“Tumplines” – a Look at the History and Ethnobiology of Northwest Coast Burden Straps, paper presentation.

I attended the conference in New Orleans at Tulane University. At the opening reception we were welcomed by the University and had a chance to look at displays in the Latin American library. I also was able to meet with my finishing masters student Sheila Grieve, who attended the conference andn presented on her final project, and my former student and AU tutor Janelle Baker, who gave a poster. I attended the sessions, and found them informative. I was particularly pleased to be able to hear the plenary organized by Gary Nabhan, who is internationally known for his work on community resource management and foodways. Sheila’s paper went well, and I was pleased to be there to hear it. I gave my paper on the second day of the conference, and it was very well received. It represented a new area and type of research for me, so I was pleased to get positive feedback. Having just received an ARF grant, I will be following up on the presentation and hope to put together a publication on the tumplines in the next year or two. I also created an informational display for the International Society of Ethnobiology to promote liaison between the two societies, and spoke to several indigenous scholars about an indigenous scholars and community expert contact list I’m helping to facilitate. I also engaged in conversations with various members of the board about issues in the society, and was asked to help document the conference photographically. The opportunity for networking with colleagues, keeping abreast of new work, and helping grad students and former grad students to make connections are also important aspects of attending the conference. I also met with several colleagues who are also members of the International Society of Ethnobiology to discuss activities of the two societies. The field trip I had hoped to attend was cancelled, so we had a short field trip to the Crescent City Farmer’s market, which is a part of the local Slow Food movement.