Candidate Statement for a CAA/ACA Director to be re-appointed as Secretary-Treasurer – 2016

Joanne Braaten

Member of the CAA Board of Directors, and Secretary-Treasurer Joanne Braaten has informed the Board that she is willing to continue on for a second term (2016-2019). The Board unanimously supports this appointment, as it will allow Ms. Braaten to complete the fiscal and operational transition of our organization to meet new federal guidelines of the Not-For-Profit Corporations Act (2014), which she has been working on continuously since she began in her first term.

Candidate Statement for a CAA/ACA Director to be appointed as Vice-President – 2016

Jennifer L. Campbell

It is a pleasure to stand for election to the board of directors of the Canadian Archaeological Association. I have been a member of the CAA since 2002 and am presently chair of the Heritage and Legislation Policy Committee. I am currently an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at the State University of New York, Potsdam (BA, MA Memorial University, PhD University of Toronto) as-well-as a research fellow of Trent University’s Archaeological Research Centre and the Archaeology Centre at U of T. I have worked on archaeological projects within Canada, both contract/CRM and University led. My MA focused on contact period Huron sites from the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario. Though my primary field research now takes me to South Asia I continue to work on heritage topics within North America and Canada specifically.

As a board member I would welcome the opportunity to serve the Canadian Archaeological Community. There are two areas where I would target my service. First; I believe in fostering student engagement within the CAA. Students represent the future of our organization and I believe we can offer more programming for students at all levels. Second, and in relation, as a Canadian trained archaeologist who works outside the country I would reach out to Canadian researchers working abroad, as-well-as to foreign researchers working in Canada. We need to (re)connect these individuals to our organization. Our strength lies in our Associations’ emphasis on projects, training, and research that develop the field and practice of archaeology within Canada. I believe this includes Canadian researchers working abroad - many of whom also work on Canadian based projects and who train students and mentor them regarding their involvement in conferences and professional organizations. We need their membership. Likewise, I would reach out to foreign researchers working on Canadian field projects or to researchers with parallel geographic/cultural interests. We have seen the strength of such associations already - within for example, our artic-minded membership. Strengthening our membership and membership participation in these areas would benefit our body as a whole and align us within the multi-sited landscape of modern archaeological practice. If elected to the board I would work to advance these initiatives while also serving the broader mandates of the position.

Meaghan Peuramäki-Brown

My name is Meaghan Peuramäki-Brown. I am an assistant professor of archaeology at Athabasca University in Alberta. I have been studying and practicing archaeology for over 17 years, and have worked, conducted research, and/or volunteered at a number of prehistoric and historic sites in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Antigua-Barbuda. I consider the work and representation of the CAA to be critical to the discipline of archaeology in Canada, and am proud to be both a member of the association and chair of the Public Communications Award (PCA) committee.

All of us, regardless of the sectors of the archaeological profession we inhabit—consulting, government CRM, academic research, public interest, First Peoples’ advocacy; business, museum, government, university; newly graduated, mid-career, approaching retirement—have been and are facing tough, yet exciting, times. In relation to our association’s already stated goals, as a discipline we face additional challenges: 1) rapidly changing information and media technologies, 2) ensuring diversity within the membership and in our association’s support networks, and 3) developing effective advocacy methods to secure our overarching objectives, enabling organizational accountability, and making prehistory and history accessible through our programs. These are formidable, interconnected, and important goals to address without delay. As a member of the Board of Directors, with possible appointment to the position of VP, I would work tirelessly alongside our President and the rest of the executive and board to reach these goals, focusing initially on those with the potential for the broadest impact.

Specifically, we should offer our membership a series of digital workshops and lectures, similar to those currently promoted by the SAA, which will help to identify, clarify, and promote best practices in all areas of our research and work; this should be done in conjunction with our Student’s Committee. We should also continue to produce, in a variety of formats, bilingual or trilingual promotional literature on the profession, including enhancing the promotion of materials submitted to our annual PCA, and advocating initiatives fostered by our Public Advocacy, Aboriginal Heritage, and Heritage & Legislation Committees. Finally, we must prioritise methods to stimulate greater and sustained interest in the CAA and its associated activities and programming, by providing greater support to the work of our Membership Committee.

Simultaneously, we must work on efforts to assist members personally, such as creating more CAA educational opportunities at all levels to improve practice, participation, and promotion competencies, and actively soliciting members with diverse backgrounds to add new voices to the CAA efforts. Working with our allies, we must continue to seek increased support for various heritage initiatives (conservation and accessibility), including those associated with the upcoming 150th anniversary of Canada. We need the collective strength as well as the fellowship of CAA members to push the profession along and prod us into action. To do so, we must use effectively and differently all of the tools at our disposal - electronic, paper, and face-to-face meets. Through the hard work of many, the CAA has come a very long way in its 48 years. It would be a privilege to serve the CAA at this very important time of its legacy.