DR. Newsom and her PH.d. Students will work closely with wabanaki nations- citizen scientists- and NPS personnel to deliver specific outcomes (described later in this section) and to nurture…

The University of Maine System, through its University of Maine Division, has been awarded a $675,498 Cooperative Agreement grant from the National Park Service's Cooperative Research and Training Programs - Resources of the National Park System (CFDA 15.945). Over the 5-year period from August 2024 to September 2029, the project will engage Dr. Newsom and her Ph.D. students to work closely with Wabanaki Nations, citizen scientists, and NPS personnel. The key products and services to be delivered include: enhancing visitor signage and programming at Acadia National Park in the short-term, documenting and preserving vulnerable archaeological sites in the long-term, and developing STEM education initiatives focused on climate change impacts to heritage spaces. The project aims to transform how archaeology is carried out in the Northeast by positioning indigenous peoples to shape research questions, connect with ancestral material culture, interpret sites, and offer solutions to climate change challenges.

DR. Newsom and her PH.d. Students will work closely with wabanaki nations- citizen scientists- and NPS personnel to deliver specific outcomes (described later in this section) and to nurture mutually beneficial relationships. DR. Newsoms work respects the role of human agency and choice in the human material culture dynamic to avoid disempowering- objectifying- and dehumanizing past and present peoples. She uses a two-eyed seeing approach to acknowledge the value of deep time knowledges that indigenous peoples retain and protect. She has demonstrated a commitment to giving indigenous peoples a voice and to that aim- has applied research methodologies that facilitate interpreting and narrating their pasts (newsom ET AL. 2023) and indigenous rights over their heritage (newsom ET AL. 2021 wheeler and newsom 2023). DR. Newsom consistently brings indigenous peoples into the archaeological arena. By doing so- she positions indigenous peoples in their rightful place to shape research questions- connect with ancestral material culture- interpret sites and landscapes- and offer ideas for solutions to climate change impacts on heritage spaces. DR. Newsom has transformed how archaeology is carried out in the northeast and proven to be a collaborative scholar and scientist (reeder-meyers ET AL. 2022 smith ET AL. 2023).public benefit: acadia national park receives more than four million recreational visits each year- making IT one of the most-visited national parks in the united states. As a result of the proposed program- visitors will benefit from enhanced signage and programming in the short term- and the documentation and preservation of vulnerable and unique archaeological sites in the long term. The projects emphasis on climate change will contribute to on-site and virtual stem programming for all ages. Examples of potential program topics include interview with an archaeologist for grades 3-6 and career day for high school students. In addition- the proposed program will benefit the PH.d. Students whose dissertations and other research and creative projects will likely reflect the proposed theme of this project.