Two great sessions yesterday on #MeTooAnthro and #SAA2019 that addressed how to respond to widespread abuse in #anthro, especially in the field. Want to follow up with a thread on advice for #fieldschool students in #archaeology. #AAACASCA2019 https://twitter.com/potatokitty/status/1197587228811288583

As @jason_p_deleon and @Archaeo_Girl noted yesterday: we desperately need anti-harassment training for #field PIs that is specific to each field. All projects also need clear reporting structures that include reporters *outside* the project. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

#archaeology students, as you’re shopping for field schools, look for those with clear policies on #harassment and guidelines for what happens if you do need to make an emergency exit. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

#archaeology students should also ask during intake interviews what protections are put in place. As panelists noted, if the PI doesn’t have a clear answer: Do. Not. Go. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

Caveat: just because a project has these structures in place doesn’t guarantee your safety. I know of several #fieldschools where students have emergency exited or PIs are subjects of Title IX and other investigations for harassment and abuse. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

Often there’s no way to know whether the #fieldschool you’re applying to has a history of harassment because there’s no guidelines or rules forcing them disclose these stats to applicants. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

As @jason_p_deleon and @Archaeo_Girl noted yesterday though certain #fieldschool programs like @IFRArchaeology have a rigorous application system, as well as robust policy on harassment in the field. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

It’s for this reason I’ve chosen to run my own #fieldschool Field Methods in Indigenous Archaeology ( #FMIA) through @IFRArchaeology. I personally know many of the other PIs and they’re often the first programs I suggest to students because the PIs are leaders in #fieldsafety.

If you’re looking for a #fieldschool and don’t want to attend one of the above, ask your mentors and former field school grads! #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

The #whispernetwork is active and strong and you should certainly tap into it. Though be warned: not everyone is aware of their colleagues’ field behaviors thus it’s best to get multiple references to programs. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

#Archaeology faculty: before you recommend a #fieldschool to your students DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Ask around to your colleagues and students! Don’t blindly forward on the solicitation emails for field schools. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

When I recommend a #fieldschool I tell my students: how I know the PI, whether I’ve been in the field with them, give them contact info for former students, and encourage them to ask questions related to their needs. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

If you are a PI and thinking about strategies to create a safe environment, consider how your policy is only as good as the relations you cultivate in a project. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

I’ve previously shared how my #FMIA #fieldschool creates a dialogue and equitable practice both with our students and within the #GrandRonde tribal nation’s community. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

For example, our first day in the field consists of collectively establishing guidelines for #FMIA’s practice. Students and staff first anonymously share what they’re most fearful of and also what they’re most excited about. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

We follow this up with a shared discussion of these fears, challenges and areas of excitement. This sets a collective understanding of what people bring with them to the project. from here everyone works in sm groups to id guidelines for work. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

The whole #FMIA team then discusses the proposed guidelines and principles and students take the lead on combining/reworking/adopting a set of guidelines. Examples include: Step Up; Step Back, Know your limits, Don’t sit on your feelings—all of which have additional text.

Both students and staff point to these guidelines to remind ourselves how we can foster good relations in our community. In cases where communication has begun to break down, we return to our guidelines and hold open dialogues on how to resolve conflict. #SAA2019 #MeTooAnthro

#FMIA has written about this process including inna puece In Press with Journal of Community Archaeology in Heritage. Also excited to see others including this approach in their projects like @ArchaeoMapper discussed in yesterday’s #MeTooAnthro panel. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019

Again, such principles don’t ensure that harassment or abuse won’t happen, but they demonstrate a culture of care that helps shape the kinds of relationships that a project cultivates. As a PI it also gives me an opportunity alongside Graduate and Undergraduate staff to guide...

...and prompt thinking about how to make everyone feel more comfortable and invested in working with one another. This is difficult to do when you’re living in close proximity for 4-6 weeks! #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

Of course, these guidelines also exist alongside a formal anti-harassment and policy of respectful relations we adhere to and a formal reporting structure through my home institution. Students also have these full policies in their handbooks, along with relevant contact info.

Even with all of these protections, students may experience harassment or feel marginalized. This is important to recognize and something the #SEAC and other surveys found: often abuse comes from those not on a project. #SAA2019 #MeTooAnthro #AAACASCA2019

This calls on all of those involved to, in words of @ArchaeoMapper and her co-authors, practice an #archaeologyoftheheart. We need to be aware of how we exercise power and respond with care to all of those we work with and alongside. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

If we act with care we can create transformative spaces that push back against the hierarchies and abuse of power that’s been institutionalized in our field. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

This is difficult work and it needs AND deserves buy in from more than just our students or precarious junior colleagues. That these sessions didn’t have representatives in the audience from our society or very many senior #anthropologists is striking. #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

Less we think this *is* surprising, it shouldn’t be. As #hautalk and recent cases of abuse in the discipline have revealed, this work is being done by junior scholars and colleagues, who despite risks continue to speak truth to power. #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro

In many cases these scholar activists are being targeted by senior anthropologists and archaeologists, and labeled as rabble rousers, malcontents, uncollegial. it’s on us to bear witness and use our positions to amplify and protect. #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro #SAA2019

End this by saying, my dm’s are open if you’re in need of #archaeology #fieldschool recommendations! There are many great ones that do an excellent job creating a safe and inclusive learning environment! #SAA2019 #AAACASCA2019 #MeTooAnthro