SASSAk12 in Action: Council for Minnesota Archaeology 2025 Conference
SASSAk12 board member, Dr. Ivy Faulkner, engaging with archaeological professionals at the Council for Minnesota Archaeology’s 2025 conference.
On February 21 - 22, 2025, SASSAk12 attended the Council for Minnesota Archaeology (CMA)’s 2025 conference. CMA is a professional organization that has promoted archaeological research and interpretation within Minnesota since 1971.
The conference featured exciting talks about MN archaeology including a talk by Kat Hayes, who is SASSAk12’s Vice President and is a University of Minnesota Anthropology Professor, on Academic Legacies in Minnesota CRM Archaeology. Long-time PREP participant Emily Briggs also shared her incredible work using stable isotopes to reconstruct climate history and bison mobility patterns in Minnesota and SASSAk12 board member Ivy Faulkner, with her colleagues at Bolton & Menk, shared a poster on a unique example of a Phase III mitigation excavation of a historic livery turned automobile garage in downtown Chaska.
SASSAk12 Vice President Dr. Kat Hayes presenting on the history of the University of Minnesota in CRM archaeology.
SASSAk12 PREP participant Emily Briggs presenting on her research using stable isotopes analysis.
SASSAk12 board member, Dr. Ivy Faulkner, sharing a poster created with her colleagues at Bolton & Menk about a historic livery/automobile garage they discovered in downtown Chaska.
The keynote address was given by William Kurtz, a highly-respected regional archaeologist. His talk focused on Demery Island, Standing Rock, Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA). This act was signed into law on October 31, 1979. ARPA was enacted “to secure, for the present and future benefit of the American people, the protection of archaeological resources and sites which are on public lands and Indian lands, and to foster increased cooperation and exchange of information between governmental authorities, the professional archaeological community, and private individuals having collections of archaeological resources and data which were obtained before October 31, 1979” (16 U.S.C. §470aa (b)) (nps.gov)
In addition the presentations, attendees participated in a training hosted by the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS), engaged with a career panel featuring thirteen professionals, and toured the University of Minnesota Department of Anthropology’s Mammalian Osteology, Lithics, Molecular Genetics, Microarchaeology, and Archaeological Chemistry Laboratories. The event also dedicated time for local businesses and organizations – like SASSAk12 – to connect with attendees and showcase their work.
SASSAk12’s Kat Hayes not only facilitated the initial connection between SASSAk12 and CMA, but also generously sponsored SASSAk12’s table at the event, enabling SASSAk12 to have a table at the conference’s job fair/exhibition hall. This table, staffed by board members Ivy Faulkner and Katrina Yezzi-Woodley, featured information on SASSAk12 and engaged visitors with interactive activities. Visitors at our table had the chance to:
Test their archaeological knowledge by guessing the locations of various petroglyphs – including one from Minnesota!
Piece together 3D-printed fragments of a broken elk bone, simulating how archaeologists reconstruct past life from incomplete remains.
Explore ecological succession through a board game designed by SASSAk12.
SASSAk12 board member, Dr. Ivy Faulkner, explaining some of the learning modules on display at SASSAk12’s table at the 2025 CMA Conference.
Did you guess what set us apart from the other tables? Arguably, our bright, colorful graphics, interactive activities, and drawing from our experience working in K-12 classrooms… nothing complements a long day of educational activities like candy!
Conversations at the table were lively and engaging throughout the entire exhibition hours. SASSAk12 reconnected with some previous volunteers such as Emily Briggs, Kassie Bradshaw Kmitch, Yessica Martinez, and Jammi Ladwig, while also meeting numerous new friends. In fact, 15 people signed up as potential future volunteers, donors, and/or board members! That’s 15 new connections to expand SASSAk12’s outreach to both established and new communities, expand on the knowledge and skills of SASSAk12’s talented volunteer pool, and enhance SASSAk12’s ability to participate in more events moving forward. Additionally, as more volunteers join SASSAk12, the more potential volunteers they bring with them from their own social and professional circles!
SASSAk12 President, Dr. Katrina Yezzi-Woodley and a previous SASSAk12 volunteer, Kassie Bradshaw Kmitch reconnected at the 2025 CMA Conference.
CMA, like many of the archaeologists and anthropologists who are part of the SASSAk12 community, is committed to stimulating education and research and inviting scholars and community members to invest in conservation, preservation, and responsible interaction with Minnesota’s material culture and archaeological sites. SASSAk12 provides these researchers with a way of engaging with the community over these topics as well as the opportunity to inspire the next generation of researchers.
You, too, can sign up to donate or volunteer with SASSAk12 at our website! And send us an email if you know of any upcoming community events where SASSAk12 can meet more people like you who are interested in community-based education and research!
SASSAk12 would like to thank
The Council for Minnesota Archaeology for including SASSAk12 as a conference partner,
Laura Meier for making the connections that allowed SASSAk12 to participate in the CMA 2025 conference,
Ivy Faulkner and Katrina Yezzi-Woodley for their contributions both at the table and in preparation for the event, and
The University of Minnesota Anthropology Department for hosting the 2025 CMA Conference.
