 Hello and welcome to Conservators Combating Climate Change, a new podcast series by the American Institute for Conservation's Emerging Conservation Professionals Network. I'm Emma Hartman, and I'm Natalia Swanson, and we're so excited to be hosting this series that we hope will inform, empower, and inspire action in conservation and collections care professionals at every stage of their career. This podcast is generously supported by the Department of Art Conservation at the University of Delaware in honor of Bruno Puglia. We're so grateful to the University of Delaware and to the entire AIC and ECPN community for supporting us in this new venture. We are so grateful to Franza's Lucasic for joining us in the program today. She is an objects conservator at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory, holds a Masters of Science in Conservation Practice with distinction from Cardiff University and a Bachelor of Arts in Art Conservation from the University of Delaware. She is a professional associate of the American Institute for Conservation and served as co-chair of the AIC Archaeological Discussion Group from 2016 to 2019. Franza's has worked at the Agora Sites in Athens, Greece with the American School for Classical Studies and at the Smithsonian National Museum for the American Indian in Washington, DC. In the summer of 2018, she served as site conservator and lab manager for the NUNALIC Archaeological Excavation, a pre-contact EUPIC site in Southwest Alaska. And that's what we're going to be talking to her about today. So Francis, welcome to the program. We're so glad you're with us during these really strange times. Thank you. Thank you both for the opportunity to come and talk with you about the NUNALIC project. Yeah, so why don't you just begin by telling our listeners a little bit about the project? Okay, sure. So, yeah, to help set the stage and provide context for those that may not be familiar with the project, the NUNALIC is a pre-contact EUPIC site in the Southwest region of Alaska and it lies in the Yukon-Kuskokwem Delta along the coast of the Bering Sea. And NUNALIC means the old village in the EUPIC language and it's about five kilometers south from the modern descendant village of Quinnahok and the excavation of the NUNALIC site is a community-based project where decision making is shared between the village corporation, Koneertuk, the community of Quinnahok and the project's principal archaeologist from the University of Aberdeen for Dr. Rick Connect and Dr. Carlotta Hillardal. And if you're wondering how an archaeologist in Scotland is connected to Alaska, Dr. Connect worked for many years in Alaska before taking up a teaching position at the University of Aberdeen. So when residents of Quinnahok noticed artifacts eroding out of the tundra onto the beach, the Village Corporation contact Dr. Connect in 2009 for assistance. So this project has been going on for a number of years and apart from this year, the excavation of the site occurred every summer and it became a part of the rhythm of village life. And the NUNALIC project is also a precedent setting as it's the first time a significant and important collection is being housed and curated by a native Alaskan village. And so the collection now consists of over 100,000 artifacts and it represents the largest assemblage of Yupik artifacts prior to contact with outsiders. It dates from the 16th to 17th century. And the project and the Culture and Archaeology Center that was established are also a role model to other villages in southwest Alaska who wish to know how to undertake similar work. And that really highlights the benefits and rewards of community engagement and collaboration. How did climate change figure into your experience working on the NUNALIC project? What were you seeing while you were working on the NUNALIC project? Oh, sure. So I'll just start by saying it's quite staggering to realize that in 2009 the site was 50 feet away from the Bering Sea. In 2018 it was 10 feet away. So parts of the site, yeah, it's just astonishing. So parts of the site excavated in previous years are no longer there, it is completely washed away. So you can imagine all that would have been lost had the excavation not occurred. And so really the project has been a rescue operation and the excavation has been in this race against the dramatically changing environments. What you're talking about is it's really harrowing. And I just wonder, seeing this very dramatic effect first hand, it must have such a strong impact on how you see preservation and preservation practices. Oh, yes, I have to say it was incredibly eye-opening because until I had the opportunity to go to Alaska to work in this, with this local UPET community, I was really, I was absolutely unaware of just how dramatic and fast-paced the climate change impact on their environment is. The tundra or permafrost is, which has provided the ideal environment to preserve organic artifacts is thawing. And the thawing permafrost and increase in the severe winter storms has accelerated coastal erosion. And this is also altered some of the waterways that are in the delta. And so this rapidly changing climate makes you think about what other archaeological sites and cultural resources are in danger, you know, other organic artifacts that are still in the ground that are now undergoing decay or what may have already been lost that you just don't know about. So I think it's important that for these burgeoning kind of cultural centers that are in these very challenging environments where it's very difficult to get resources that they're still considering like, well, how best can we take care of our heritage and our collection so that it will continue to thrive and be this great resource for the community? They made improvements to the building envelope to help minimize, you know, the drastic changes, you know, in weather that they see or experience there. It may not be what would be considered like the green, you know, the most energy efficient, you know, it's a work in progress and then, you know, as resources are available, they're continually improving on, you know, the storage for the artifacts. Yeah, Francis, I think it's it's so important in eyeopening to realize that the temperature increases that we see often reported our averages and in some places on the globe, like Alaska, they're already being affected at much higher rates. And as the Quinn and Caw community is watching their cultural heritage erode from the permafrost, as you say, they're also witnessing the rapid loss of their ancestral land. This is all made even more challenging by the location of the village. And as you say, it's so remote that the often extremely resource and energy intensive practice of preserving cultural heritage is made even more more challenging and more more difficult to enact. In a previous conversation, you mentioned that some of these artifacts that surfaced were really, you know, kind of the physical manifestation of the oral traditions that are shared in the community. And so I imagine that that these will be used for for for teaching the youth and the community about the tradition. So was that taking into consideration when you were all making decisions about about storage? Oh, yes, very much so artifacts can be lifted out of their cabinets or drawers by the box. But if the community member or researcher wants to wants to pick up the artifact, it's not discouraged. You know, if, you know, we knew an artifact had a particular weakness. And when, you know, we would tell the person like, OK, we suggest picking it up this way so that, you know, it's fully supported. Yeah, the goal was to make sure they felt comfortable in handling, you know, an artifact if they weren't sure how. Francis, it's really great and so important that the project is empowering community members to handle and care for their collections. That's that's so crucial. The project that you're describing sounds so collaborative. What do you think are some of the benefits of projects like this in which the cultural heritage profession works so closely with local communities? Collaborative nature of the project fosters mutual respect. And then it also facilitates the unique needs of the community and the scientific community. You know, and in some instances, the artifacts revived interest in activities that had not been practiced in the village for quite a long time, such as mass making for traditional dances. The excavation has helped the people of Quinnahot connect with their culture and their ancestors and would like to add that it's also a source of inspiration to artisans in the village. One person that always, you know, memorable and sticks out to me is one of the is an elder and a master Ivory Carver named John Smith. And he said he was learning a lot from the artifacts from the dig, how his ancestors lived and how they and how they did things. And so it was an amazing experience to listen to him, you know, watch him examine and discuss like these freshly excavated Ivory artifacts, you know, that day and then come around the next day to show us a replica of the artifact he just carved. Wow. You know, it's an immeasurably rewarding experience for those of us that had the opportunity to work and live alongside the community. It's great to hear about all of the benefits of the project Francis. I wonder if you could talk a little bit about some of the difficulties of dealing with a project that grapples with with the change in climate so directly. At the moment, it feels kind of overwhelming because there's little to no resources to deal with the problem. It can be really overwhelming. And it's something that we think about a lot while making this podcast, especially because of the current situation that we're in, what everyone's mental health is already so strained. Really, the conversation that we're having is, you know, it's related to conservation because that's that's our profession. And sometimes maybe that's our identity. But, you know, the reality is that that we are all dealing with climate change in every aspect of our life and the way in which we'll address it is by changing our mindset and recognizing that we all have agency in almost every action and every decision that we make. To, to, to institute change those are excellent points. You're right. You have to start somewhere. Well, on the plus side, there are some efforts underway, like I had heard recently about this project that I think Sarah Nunberg is heading and it's the kind of building of a very user friendly tool. That can help to inform what, like comparisons of similar materials, what would be a more sustainable option. So I think that there is efforts in our field. Yeah, which sounds really useful. That's great tool like that. So that's terrific. Well, I know that at least, you know, at the lab I work at, we've had building upgrades modifications that have been happening slowly that we've since we are a part of the state of Maryland, it's working through it, you know, the government system and, and, you know, allocation of funding. So we've been waiting for, you know, things like putting insulation in the roof or, you know, new sighting that will improve the building envelope. You're totally right. Like we're working within these institutions and funding is usually the bottom line for decision making and it's, you know, it's complicated. I think we can really theorize on what would be the greenest options, but making like implementing them isn't isn't always so easy. So true. Yeah, I mean, all of this is is really challenging and there are so many levels of complexity to the problem. I mean, part of what I think is important for those of us who are trying to grapple with climate change and work on solutions is the fact that besides just trying to mitigate the effects and and halt the effects. We also need to come to terms with the fact that part of part of this is the ship has already sailed like we have already and alterably changed global climate and weather patterns and so part of working on climate change is accepting to need to be resilient and learn how to adapt to the large changes that we've already set into motion. Yeah, I think we all need to become very adaptive because one, the projections of the changing climate is just that right it's changing and so I think we need we're all at some point going to have to like I weren't we don't have those ideal conditions to work with I think that'll probably become more common as as the climate changes. Agreed. Agreed. Yeah, the people of Quinnahawk, they have had to adapt the time period that the artifacts date to is the late 16th early 17th century when there wasn't the mini ice age going on. So this archaeological collection is also quite quite fascinating to look at as, you know, to see how people, the people then were adapting to their environment, you know what what their lifestyle was like. That's really fascinating. Yeah, yeah, it's one of the ways that this, the Nenolik site is important and and is providing information how Yippe people have been living and adapting to to their environment for centuries. And I love I love this broader point that I think you're making about how much we can learn from this community is really an exchange of information like we are helpful in terms of the preservation and handling and But there's a lot of knowledge that can be learned about how these communities have adapted to their environment and and I think what we know about Indigenous communities is that largely there is much more respect for the climate. That empathy and compassion for natural resources will benefit us as a culture and I think that's that mentality. It was necessary for us to adopt if we are going to address climate change successfully in in equitable way. Oh, agreed, agreed. I think I think that's wonderfully put going forward communication with the Indigenous communities in our country need to be more prevalent. Absolutely. Well, thank you, Francis. This has been really, really interesting and I hope that all of our listeners will will spend some time thinking about how, you know, they can invest in and hold their their immediate communities close and and think about ways to connect in their in their immediate communities during this pandemic crisis and as we we start to really grapple with the climate crisis in real Thank you both again. I really enjoyed the opportunity to speak with you both and appreciate being able to bring attention to the NANALIC project and the important work that has been going on there. A very special thank you to Francis and to everyone who has joined us for this conversation. As always, feel free to reach out using the email we've provided in our episode notes and definitely check out those resources provided. Please do join us next time when we'll be talking to objects conservator Kate Fugit about forming coalitions and building community. We hope everyone stays safe and make sure to subscribe to the podcast on whatever podcast app you use most. Until next time.