Cultural Heritage Law Forum

[bc1234]

Does anyone know anything about Cultural Heritage Law? Or law in association with archaeology? If so, do you know of any schools that have a particularly strong program in this area?

[mcdad]

Would also like to know.

[leangreenbeans]

No schools are ultimately "strong" in any specialties, and taking one or two classes in this area will not provide you the boost to get a job. Best way to find out about it is to email people in UNESCO and other organizations and find out where their staff comes from.

[bc1234]

Do you think it would be unwise - in a personal statement - to write about wanting to go into cultural property law, even if the specific school isn't known for it?

[nealric]

Do you think it would be unwise - in a personal statement - to write about wanting to go into cultural property law, even if the specific school isn't known for it?

Can't hurt. No school is going to be "known" for something this specific. At most, you will find a class or two.

[bc1234]

thanks

[jk11287]

This is my area of interest also. Just for the record, I heard most UNESCO employees also have a masters or something in their area of interest, I don't know if that's true for their legal team.

I wrote my personal statement on the exact topic, and got some very positive feedback, if that helps.

There aren't really any official programs yet; what I did was go to the schools' websites that I was interested in and searched in their course catalogs. Vanderbilt has some classes, as well as a club dedicated to Cultural Heritage law. DePaul I think has the best program, because I believe the president of the Cultural Heritage Society or whatever its called is a professor there.

[Havaianas]

I wrote my PS on this as well and am super interested. Haven't really found any schools to have a program in this. Talking to the legal counsel who works with my uni's museums/libraries - she did not specialize in anything vaguely related and basically told me that from her experience the specialty probably doesn't matter as long as you do well, show interest, etc. And that I shouldn't expect to get an "art law" or cultural heritage law job right out of school.

[umichgrad03]

Glad to find other like-minded folks heading to law school for cultural heritage! I too am wanting to focus on this as my career. I obtained my B.A. in Classical Archaeology, my M.A. in Near Eastern Archaeology and worked as a professional archaeologist for 2 years after graduate school. I was told to focus on land use law and real estate law in addition (as CRM is directly tied to development) and administrative law. DePaul has a CH program.
http://www.law.depaul.edu/centers_insti ... _heritage/

Patty Gerstenblith is the program director...I utilized her knowledge for my M.A. thesis.

Edited to add: Check out Kimberly Alderman's blog...she's a lawyer and has written quite a bit about Cultural Heritage and Law.

http://culturalpropertylaw.wordpress.com/

[Lonagan]

I would guess that the Department of the Interior employs people to do this sort of thing in the U.S. All of my work experience with the NPS has had me in contact with arch crews doing compliance work, etc. If they have that many people in the field doing assessments, it would stand to reason there is a lawyer somewhere telling people what can and cannot be built in proximity to cultural resources.

[umichgrad03]

I would guess that the Department of the Interior employs people to do this sort of thing in the U.S. All of my work experience with the NPS has had me in contact with arch crews doing compliance work, etc. If they have that many people in the field doing assessments, it would stand to reason there is a lawyer somewhere telling people what can and cannot be built in proximity to cultural resources.

Not exactly...I worked for a private CRM firm. All of our Principal Investigators were the ones who knew about the laws (Section 106, etc.) We didn't have any lawyers telling us what we could and could not do. It just comes with the territory.

I've worked in a National Forest too...again, the District Arch was well versed in law.

[umichgrad03]

Wanted to add that the LCCHP (Lawyers Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation) has a website that lists some courses at various schools in a variety of disciplines (Cultural Heritage, Historic Preservation, etc.)

http://www.culturalheritagelaw.org/educ ... ool-survey

[Lonagan]

I would guess that the Department of the Interior employs people to do this sort of thing in the U.S. All of my work experience with the NPS has had me in contact with arch crews doing compliance work, etc. If they have that many people in the field doing assessments, it would stand to reason there is a lawyer somewhere telling people what can and cannot be built in proximity to cultural resources.

Not exactly...I worked for a private CRM firm. All of our Principal Investigators were the ones who knew about the laws (Section 106, etc.) We didn't have any lawyers telling us what we could and could not do. It just comes with the territory.

I've worked in a National Forest too...again, the District Arch was well versed in law.

So when the arch. crew says "this road would impact cultural resources" and the park superintendent says "screw it, build it anyway," who settles it? There isn't a DoI lawyer somewhere in the mix? I really don't know; I just chase bears for NPS.

[umichgrad03]

I would guess that the Department of the Interior employs people to do this sort of thing in the U.S. All of my work experience with the NPS has had me in contact with arch crews doing compliance work, etc. If they have that many people in the field doing assessments, it would stand to reason there is a lawyer somewhere telling people what can and cannot be built in proximity to cultural resources.

Not exactly...I worked for a private CRM firm. All of our Principal Investigators were the ones who knew about the laws (Section 106, etc.) We didn't have any lawyers telling us what we could and could not do. It just comes with the territory.

I've worked in a National Forest too...again, the District Arch was well versed in law.

So when the arch. crew says "this road would impact cultural resources" and the park superintendent says "screw it, build it anyway," who settles it? There isn't a DoI lawyer somewhere in the mix? I really don't know; I just chase bears for NPS.

Well, we can stop construction dead in its tracks when we monitor...that's why road crews and construction crews (especially heavy equipment operators...) hate us. Honestly, under compliance regulations, if an archaeologist says it impacts cultural resources, we trump anyone else until we sign off on it...at least that's what has happened in my experience. Although, what one arch deems significant, the other might consider just a pile of rocks. Greatest lesson I ever learned is that we archaeologists have to believe our own BS first and foremost, then we convince others to see the "cultural significance" we think we see in a rock pile or feature. The importance of protection is under the National Historic Preservation Act (or any number of federal laws governing what federal entities have to do in terms of cultural heritage). You'd love the look you get from the operator when I make them stop for a coca cola bottle in the trench they are digging for a sewer line...haha. My last project a few weeks ago had us surveying DURING a controlled burn. Most of us didn't even have red cards, which made it illegal for us to be around the fires...I got some great photos on that one. The District Arch didn't have control over the fire crews, so we had to deal with it...sigh.

Edited to add: There probably is a lawyer somewhere...but I don't think they are consulted that often. The few CH lawyers I know of don't do CH solely as their main focus, they also specialize in other areas.

[Lonagan]

Interesting. That is the impression I had gotten about arch crews under NHPA, but my superintendents have all been very supportive of resource protection so the actual controversy has not come up.

No wonder you guys are such prima donas in the field, with that kind of power going to your heads~

[umichgrad03]

Interesting. That is the impression I had gotten about arch crews under NHPA, but my superintendents have all been very supportive of resource protection so the actual controversy has not come up.

No wonder you guys are such prima donas in the field, with that kind of power going to your heads~

But that coca cola bottle could change the course of history!!! er...not. Haha. Our main concern is human remains. Oh boy, does that throw 'em for a loop. Yay for burials.

[nynole]

tag

[GWdawg]

Definitely go to the website listed up there, they have most of the schools that cover this kind of law. Depaul and Miami both have great professors with this kind of law. Most schools have some sort of class related to this, whether it be art law, arch law, indian law, etc., just look through what their course listing to see what they have.

[nynole]

I would guess that the Department of the Interior employs people to do this sort of thing in the U.S. All of my work experience with the NPS has had me in contact with arch crews doing compliance work, etc. If they have that many people in the field doing assessments, it would stand to reason there is a lawyer somewhere telling people what can and cannot be built in proximity to cultural resources.

Not exactly...I worked for a private CRM firm. All of our Principal Investigators were the ones who knew about the laws (Section 106, etc.) We didn't have any lawyers telling us what we could and could not do. It just comes with the territory.

I've worked in a National Forest too...again, the District Arch was well versed in law.

So when the arch. crew says "this road would impact cultural resources" and the park superintendent says "screw it, build it anyway," who settles it? There isn't a DoI lawyer somewhere in the mix? I really don't know; I just chase bears for NPS.

Whether an archaeological site is deemed important enough to avoid construction, varies from state to state, and the standards are regulated by the SHPO (State Historic Preservation Officer). A scattering of pottery sherds probably won't stop the construction of a road, but an ossuary or burial site will hold construction until the site can be re-located, if at all. There are a number of opportunities for attorneys who are interested in CRM law, for example, advocating for any number of cultural groups that may claim an affiliation to the site, NAGPRA compliance, etc..