No science can ever exist outside of politics. While some famous academics have claimed that, we can also use a more material example for the Society for American Archaeology (SAA). One of their many committees is the Government Affairs Committee(GAC), which lobbies the United States Government. The group of 9 gives policy recommendations to the SAA and provides expertise to governmental officials throughout the country, though they are based in D.C [1].
This committee experienced large expansion in the early 90s, with the hiring of permanent members. This was quite fortuitous, as the National Endowments for the Humanities became threatened in the Congress for 1994-1996 The Society for American Archaeology was able to easily mobilize, as the lone archaeological organization with a permanent presence in the Capitol, and advocate for archaeologists [2]. This was alongside a second organization, the Government Affairs Network State Representatives, which focused on state-level government and archaeology organizations, providing a communication link between National and more local groups [3].
The GAC still exists today, and still fights for Archaeology. Most recently they co-signed a letter to the White House condemning the recent executive order banning immigrants from many countries in the world [4]. On behalf of the Society for American Archaeology, the GAC has also written to the Army Corps of Engineers asking them to reconsider the Dakota Access pipeline and also advised for stronger historical preservation laws. If you’re interested in seeing some of their letters for yourself, you can see all of them in the final footnote below!
-B.G.
[2]http://www.saa.org/portals/0/saa/publications/saabulletin/17-1/SAA5.html
[3] http://www.saa.org/Portals/0/SAA/publications/SAAbulletin/14-5/SAA7.html
Digging Nature: Rub Some Dirt On It 