Letter from the President

February 2024

The letter from the MAS President is intended as a vehicle to inform the general membership of the Minnesota Archaeological Society of recent Board of Directors activities. The following is a brief recap of the events, discussions, and decisions that transpired during the past half year and future planning.

We were happy to send membership Volume 80 of the Minnesota Archaeologist which covered a variety of topics on Minnesota Archaeology. We are working on editing Volume 81 which will be a memorial volume to Doug Birk. There are seven great articles that highlight Minnesota Archaeology in the spirit of Doug Birk. Our Senior Editor, Danielle Kiesow, has now completed her fifth volume of the Minnesota Archaeologist. Danielle is looking to pass the Senior Editor role to a new editor. Please consider either a one volume guest editor role or picking up as Senior Editor of the Journal. We are very grateful to Danielle her outstanding work as editor.

September was Archaeology Month and MAS was involved in five weekends of activities in support. Programs included Archaeology weekends at Fort Snelling, Split Rock Lighthouse, Jeffers, and Mille Lacs Kathio. Thank you to Jennifer Rankin and Mandy Wintheiser for stepping forward to plan and organize Minnesota Archaeology Month. During September we also had our MAS annual meeting, which we held at The Minnesota Historical Society’s Archaeology Offices at the Kellogg Center. A big thank you to Mara Taft, Selena Bernier, Jennifer Rankin, and Mandy Wintheiser for organizing our annual meeting.

Spring and summer programs are coming with opportunities to get involved in Minnesota archaeology. Look for volunteer opportunities on our Facebook page. We will also have a return of the Snake River Fur Post Flint Knapping gathering, known by participants as the Pine City Knap-in.

We have a call for nominations for the 2024 Hill Lewis Award which recognizes outstanding contributions by avocational archaeologists in Minnesota. Nominations are due by June 1st. The award will be presented at the 2024 Annual Meeting in September. We are pleased to continue this important tradition of recognizing avocational contributions to Minnesota archaeology.

MAS lectures have become a virtual gathering point for our community to discuss regional archaeology topics, thanks to Michael Michlovic for planning and Mandy Wintheiser for moderating these meetings. In March, Mike Michlovic will choose a topic to highlight from his extensive career studying the archaeology of the Red River Valley. In April, Alex Hedquist will give a talk featuring her master’s program research at Saint Cloud State University on stone tool technology in Minnesota. Please check the schedule on Facebook or the MAS website. Also, check out past lectures on our YouTube channel.

Dan Wendt
President