Anthropology News Spring Issue June 2006 Volume 19 Number 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the Chair Letter from the President Highlighting Student Research: The Maintenance of the Hmong Language in Milwaukee Forensic Anthropology: A Day at the Medical Examiners Office The SAA Conference, Puerto Rico, April 2006 Photojournal Kent Hovind; the Creator of his own Creationism. Faculty Bios Museum Studies News Anthropology News Liz Handwerk- [email protected] Ricky Kubicek - [email protected] Museum Studies News Seth Schneider - [email protected] 1 Letter from the Chair If I missed people who should be singled out By: Robert Jeske for their accomplishments, please let me know and I’ll add them next fall. Dear ASU: Once again, our students were very active at Happy end of the year! This is a special, professional meetings such as the American rushed version of the chair’s letter. I’m out Anthropological Association, the Society for in the wilds of south-central Wisconsin with American Archaeology, the American 22 students and three graduate TAs, Association of Physical Anthropology, the excavating at two fantastic Oneota sites. I Midwest Archaeological Conference, the hope you’re having as much fun and Chacmool Conference, the Central States excitement as I am! Anthropological Society, and Wisconsin Archaeological Survey. Special notice goes We have had another very busy year in the to Jim Johnson, who was co-organizer of a department—since the Fall of 2005 we symposium at the SAAs in San Juan entitled produced 3 Ph.D.s, 11 master’s students, and Twenty-Five Years After: In the Wake of the 21 bachelor’s students (exact numbers may Archaeology of Death. The mortuary vary due to submission deadlines). In studies symposium drew an international set addition, thirteen graduate students of presenters and was a very popular completed the Museum Studies certificate. session. Congratulations to all. The faculty were also busy. Congratulations The breakdown was: to Jean Hudson for her promotion to Associate Professor with tenure. Paul Ph.D. M.S. B.A. Total Brodwin and Thomas Malaby continued to Archaeology 0 9 -- 9 work on their NSF grants, and Michael Biological 0 0 -- 0 Muehlenbein was awarded a UWM RGI Cultural/ 3 2 -- 5 grant. Trudy Turner spent the year at NSF; Linguistic we look forward to her return this fall. John General -- -- 21 21 and Pat Richards continued to fund students Anthropology through Historic Resources Management Total 3 11 21 36 Services. The rest of us were busy too, but I will just say that you should check out the Please take a look at the dissertation and web site to see how much Celtic Studies, theses titles on the department’s web page. Forensic Sciences, and other research and It is truly great to see the imaginative and teaching projects are contributing to our creative approaches people have taken to department. This summer we have faculty their work. working all around the world—Borneo, Europe, Africa, and the U.S.—many with I’d like to single out some of our students students as integral members of their with special accomplishments this year. research teams. Ph.D. student Mary Roffers was awarded a UWM Dissertator Fellowship, Ph.D. student Finally, I would like to give a special thanks Matt Robinson was awarded a UWM to all of the ASU officers who served this Graduate School Fellowship, and senior year and congratulations to all the new Leila Mousai was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. officers for next year. 2 new members and re- recruiting past See you on September 9, 2006 for the members be undertaken regardless of their graduate orientation and welcome. Please graduate, undergraduate or professional put the date on your calendar now, since standing. important information such as requirements and financial aid will be covered. Furthermore, while it is important that ASU follow its bylaws and adhere to Roberts All the best, Rules of Order, we are a small organization and cannot afford to stand too much upon Robert J. Jeske protocol other than politeness, especially since, as we have all seen, this can result in the suppression of the very ideas and urgency of mission that ASU is seeking. Letter from the ASU I sincerely hope that the 2006 – 2007 Elected Officers Appointed Officials, and President general membership find success in all their By: Ethan Epstein endeavors and that ASU can overcome the growing dichotomy of purpose posed by the merits of both social organization and I would like to thank all UW-Milwaukee academic endeavor. ASU members for allowing me the privilege of serving as the Anthropology Student Thank you, Union (ASU) President for the 2005-2006 Ethan A. Epstein term. Additionally, I would like to thank all the members, faculty and administrators President who graciously invested their time and efforts with ASU throughout the year. Highlighting Student Having served a full term, I feel it is still imperative that some of the issues brought to Research: The Maintenance the forefront of ASU meeting discussions in of the Hmong Language in both the Fall and Spring continue to be Milwaukee addressed. By: Alyson Carr Perhaps the most significant issue that ASU members need to resolve is the determination of the appropriate mix for For my master’s thesis I am researching the ASU pursuits between academics, practice, role of bilingual Hmong- and English- philanthropy and social organization, speaking Hmong professionals in the especially in light of ASU’s limited maintenance of the Hmong language in resources and members’ limited available Milwaukee. time. Given that members derive a sense of purpose from ASU, participation in As American allies in the Viet Nam War, meetings and activities will follow. Only many Hmong faced persecution in Laos after ASU is able to articulate its main after the Conflict ended. They fled to purpose can a serious attempt at recruiting Thailand, where they awaited either 3 relocation to a third country or the ability to loss. Changes in the Hmong language such safely return to their own countries. Since as those mentioned above prompt some 1975 thousands of Hmong have been Hmong to wonder whether the use of the relocated to the United States and 50,000 language will discontinue in the US within Hmong reside in Wisconsin today. The last 100 years. However, others believe the group of refugees arrived in 2005 (with language will remain viable here, citing the about 3,200 coming to Wisconsin). production of music videos and films in Milwaukee County has the highest Hmong; Hmong language church services; concentration of Hmong in Wisconsin, with communication with other Hmong speakers about 10,000 Hmong residents. through the telephone, email, and postal mail; and other activities that continue to Most refugees arrive illiterate in the Hmong promote the use of the Hmong language. language and with minimal English language skills. The Hmong and English I’ve decided to concentrate on the role of the languages use very different syntaxes, bilingual Hmong professionals and their role spelling rules, and phonemes, making it in the maintenance of the Hmong language difficult for adults to learn each other’s in Milwaukee for a few reasons. With the languages. As a result, many Hmong who last group of new monolingual Hmong- come to the United States as adults do not speakers coming to Milwaukee in 2005, no achieve fluency in English. Children, more new non-English speakers will be however, who grow up in the American arriving, thus requiring Hmong Americans school system become fluent in English, to maintain or brush up on their Hmong often times more fluent than in Hmong. language skills. This milestone means that in another thirty years, barring unforeseen Over the past 30 years the Hmong language circumstances, very few non-English has undergone changes due to influence speaking Hmong will remain in Milwaukee. from English. Younger people especially Today many professional Hmong rely on those who may not have strong Hmong their bilingual skills to work with non- skills, or have skills equally strong in English-speaking clients, helping them Hmong and English, may begin a sentence navigate legal matters, the public school in one language and end it in another, or system, healthcare facilities, government substitute English words in an otherwise bureaucracy, the real estate market, and Hmong conversation when the Hmong many other activities of American life. Their words don’t come to mind readily. Some knowledge of not only both languages, but people also complain that Hmong youth both societies’ norms, beliefs, and pronounce Hmong with American accents. perceptions of the “other” make these As a result, many grandparents and bilingual professionals valuable resources to grandchildren have difficulties their communities as translators of words communicating with each other. and cultures. However, without people to translate for in the future when the Hmong Adaptations to and changes made in a in Milwaukee all speak English, these minority group’s original language may bilingual professionals will need to find new signal a language shift in process, or they careers or adapt their current jobs to the may simply occur as a result of the changing circumstances. The perceived language’s adaptation to a new environment usefulness of the Hmong language may also without signifying any impending language be questioned, even more so than it is 4 already. I am interested in taking this unique Science, and a Certificate in Forensic opportunity to study how the bilingual Toxicology. professionals use the Hmong language in Osteology and mortuary analysis are their personal and professional lives today, my main area of study within Anthropology how others are impacted by their skills, and and over the last several years I have also how their unique skills build relationships of developed an interest in Forensic power within the Hmong community as well Anthropology, although it was something I as within the wider Milwaukee community.