Brookings, SD (KELO AM) - The National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers has selected South Dakota State University assistant professor Richard Meyers as the main researcher and writer on a U.S. Department of Defense project intended to begin the important dialogue between the federal government and tribal nations on sacred sites. The intentions are to explore how sacred sites are understood, and to uphold the continuing need for all federal agencies to recognize the value in understanding tribal sovereignty. The outcomes will further the discussions on how to respect and protect sacred sites for future generations.
Meyers, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is the program coordinator of American Indian Studies at State.Meyers is a member of South Dakota State's Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. Prior to arriving at SDSU in 2012, he served as editor and writer in the Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs for the U.S. Department of Interior in Washington, D.C. He earned a doctorate in anthropology at Arizona State University in 2008.
"As an on-the-ground anthropologist-ethnographer, I'm looking to gather the various perspectives on sacred sites, ways to protect and maintain them and show how integral it is for all stakeholders involved to really nurture a dialogue," said Meyers, who needs to create a questionnaire, conduct interviews and compile case studies.Meyers needs to have at least 12 tribes or communities participate in the project, which has been given a one-year time frame.The National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers recently entered into an agreement with the U.S. Navy, through the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, to collaborate on a project to protect Native American sacred sites within the context of the military readiness mission across the DoD. The project's main objective is compiling a compendium of case studies related to American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian sacred sites.