SAA Survey on Department of Interior’s Review of the Secretary of the Interior Professional Qualifications Standards

Dear Archaeologist,

The US Department of the Interior has announced that the Secretary of the Interior (SOI) Professional Qualifications Standards (Standards) are currently under review. The SOI Standards were originally published in 1983 and have guided the trajectory of the cultural resources management (CRM) industry in the United States over the past 40 years.

The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) Government Affairs Committee plans to use this opportunity to advocate for the accurate addressing of the archaeological community’s concerns and contemporary practices.

The SOI Standards Survey will remain open for 30 days until 5:00 p.m. EDT, Thursday, September 7. The survey is located here. We encourage all archaeologists of every career stage who work or intend to potentially work in US contexts to take this survey. While all questions are optional, please answer this survey as honestly and completely as possible. Additionally, please feel free to share this survey with anyone involved in US archaeology who would be willing to share their views. Your input here will help drive the future of archaeology in the United States.

If you have already answered this survey, many thanks. There is no need to do it again.Sincerely,

The SAA Government Affairs Committee Members

Dan Sandweiss
President, Society for American Archaeology