A Role Playing Town Hearing
Students will divide into four groups: descendents of the people buried in graveyards on the Grinnell campus, scientists researching tuberculosis and its spread in 19th Century Iowa, historic preservationists whose mission in to preserve the historic grounds of the campus, and university officials who want to build a new branch of the library on one of the cemeteries. Following the town meeting students must submit a 3 page persuasive letter to the debate facilitator from the perspective of the role they are playing in the debate.
Fictional Background Information:
The temporal setting is five years in the future at Grinnell College. In spite of having moved the Science collection over to the new wing of Noyce Hall, the physical capacity of the library has been unable to meet the ever-increasing demands of updating research materials and providing space for research activities. An innovative team of designers has been hired and has designed a plan to extend the library South towards 6th Avenue by building on to the existing structure.
This plan was met with some resistance. Several people felt it would compromise the stylistic integrity of Burling. For example, the Grinnell Society for Historic Preservation (made up of local citizens from within and beyond the university community) was initially opposed to the plan to extend Burling Library, but allowed the college to proceed with its plan after the college agreed to extend their Iowa Collection with a display on the History of the Town of Grinnell in the new wing.
However, on the first day of excavation for the new wing, the workers unearthed human bones and artifacts that appear to have been buried over during the initial construction of the library. Initial estimates from surfaced artifacts roughly date the last occupation of the site to the first half of the 19th Century. Some of the unearthed artifacts appear to be Native American in origin. Surfaced human bones show some indication that at least some members of the population may have suffered from tuberculosis, a disease that several research scientists are interested in investigating from a historical perspective. Construction on the site has since come to a standstill as university officials, historic preservationists, representatives of Native Americans, and research scientists disagree with what to do with the remains.
- University officials have been characterized as being primarily interested in completing the project as soon as possible and not increasing the overall budget of the project.
- Historic preservationists are characterized as invested in seeing the new History of the Town of Grinnell display come to fruition, while they are enthusiastic about the possibility of including new artifacts in the display.
- Research scientists are primarily interested in having time to thoroughly analyze the site and bring the artifacts to appropriate laboratories for further testing.
- Native Americans representatives have argued that the site represents a Native American graveyard, and thus, they have the rights to decide the fate of the site and its remains based upon the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Purpose of Assignment:
In order to participate in archeological research in the United States, familiarity with both the overall ethical issues and specific regulations of NAGPRA is essential. In addition, understanding the potential conflicts between historical, biological, cultural and political valuation of human remains provides a framework for discussing sub-cultural diversity and the resolution of conflicting cost and benefits analyses.
Methods and Deadlines:
- Friday, February 25: Typed on a single sheet of paper, all students should submit an ordered list of their role preferences in the debate and a brief explanation (100-150 words) of your selections. You should look over the Endicott and Welsh readings, the article by archeologist K. Kris Hurst, "Remembering Maria Pearson", and the NAGPRA website and consider the relevant information in making your choice.
- Wednesday, March 2: You should thoroughly read the Endicott and Welsh reading (posted on Blackboard), the attached article and interview, and be familiar with the NAGPRA website prior to this class. Role preference papers will be returned and you will be assigned to one of the four groups. During class you will meet with your teammates and decide upon individual roles in presenting the perspective of the assigned group role. The following are some examples of individual roles.
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- Native American perspective: a member of one of the tribes who might have a claim to the human remains, or the role of a political official, lawyer or activist representing the tribe.
- Research Scientist: an epidemiologist, or physical and archeological anthropologists studying health in the 19th Century.
- Historic preservationist: a member of the Grinnell Historic preservation society interested in the possibility of turning the site into a National Historic Landmark.
- University officials: the university president, the head librarian, a representative of the SEPC, or an archeologist on campus.
- Friday, March 4: In-Class Town Meeting. Each student should have a name tag (4X6 index card) with their name and role in big letters (i.e. Russell Osgood: university president, John Smith: lawyer, Kathy Kamp: archeologist, Running Waters: tribal leader). Each group will have 8-10 minutes to give a presentation on their group position of what should be done with the human remains found when beginning excavation for the addition of a new wing to Burling Library. Each student should present at least one major point in the overall argument or explain one visual aid. Some examples of possible visual aids could be a map of the site, a map of the distribution of Native Americans in this area during the relevant time period, a diagram of the procedure of examining human remains, a photograph of the effects of TB on human remains, etc.) As the meeting facilitator, I will ask participants several questions.
- Monday, March 7: Based upon their research, meeting roles, and in-class presentations, each student should submit a 3-4 page double-spaced persuasive essay regarding what should be done with the remains. Please include a list of references/ resources used in preparing for the debate.
NAGPRA website: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nagpra/
