NYAC Website
The New York Archaeological Council (NYAC) was founded to raise awareness of archaeology and archaeological issues of New York State: to provide information of general interest on the history and prehistory of New York as well as about the field of archaeology that provides insight into that history, to provide educational resources about archaeology, to provide information on the conduct of professional archaeology in New York, to serve as a point of reference for anyone that needs to consider archaeological resources in compliance with various laws and regulations that often come into play during construction projects, and to increase the awareness of New York Archaeology to the general public.
NYSAA Website
The New York State Archaeological Association (NYSAA) is composed of avocational and professional archaeologists primarily within New York State, though some of its members can be found throughout the world. NYSAA stands to promote archaeological and historical study, and research covering the artifacts, rites, customs, beliefs and other phases of the lives and cultures of the American Indian occupants of New York State up to and including their contact with the Europeans. Recently, the Association has expanded its focus to include research upon Euro-American archaeological sites post-dating European Contact.
- URGENT: Historic Preservation is Under Direct Threat!
Senate Bill 5653—pushed under the guise of the “Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act”—proposes the most destructive overhaul of the National Historic Preservation Act since 1966. If passed, it will fast-track construction, strip away community input, muzzle SHPOs/THPOs, and block judicial recourse even when irreplaceable archaeological and historical resources are damaged.
We cannot stay silent.
- WHAT: Preservation in Jeopardy: Panel Discussion on S. 5653
- WHEN: Tomorrow night! Wednesday, October 28th at 7:00 PM
- WHERE: Museum of Science OR Online via Zoom
- ZOOM DETAILS:
- Meeting Link: Join Zoom Meeting
- Meeting ID: 836 4485 9063
- Passcode: 245719
- PANELISTS:
- Doug Perrelli, UB Archaeological Survey
- Kate Whalen, NY Archaeological Council
ACT NOW:
- Join us tomorrow night at 7pm in person at the Buffalo Museum of Science or via Zoom to stand up for our heritage.
- Forward this immediately to every preservationist, archaeologist, and advocate you know.
- Call your NYS Senator to inform them of your opposition to the bill.
- Renew your Houghton Chapter membership for 2027 right away to support our ongoing advocacy for the Houghton Chapter and the NYS Archaeological Association.
Your voice and your membership matter now more than ever. See you tonight!
- Rally to Save the Historic Preservation Act
Reserve this day on your calendars now for a powerful rally: Monday, November 9, 2026
U.S. Capitol
Washington D.C.(Potential pre-rally gathering on Nov. 8th)
(Times and exact gathering locations to be announced)For sixty years, the National Historic Preservation Act has helped protect the places that tell America’s stories: Tribal sacred sites, historic neighborhoods, battlefields, burial grounds, landmarks, and the places where ordinary people made extraordinary history.
Now, those protections face one of the gravest threats in their history.
As the Senate prepares to consider legislation that would dismantle the National Historic Preservation Act, 106 Strong is calling Americans to gather at the U.S. Capitol on November 9 to stand for our history, our communities, Tribal Nations, and our right to be heard.
We are 1,000 organizations and Tribal Nations representing more than nine million Americans. We come from every corner of the country, every kind of community, and many different backgrounds. We are united by a simple conviction:
Our history belongs to all of us. No administration or Congress should be able to destroy it without listening to the people whose lives and communities it defines.
On November 9, we will bring that message directly to the nation’s capital. We invite Tribal citizens, preservationists, historians, architects, archaeologists, museum professionals, students, community advocates, and everyone who cares about America’s heritage to join us.
Come to Washington. Bring your colleagues. Bring your friends. Bring the stories of the places you love.
We will gather peacefully, stand together, and call on Congress to reject legislation that weakens protections for America’s historic and cultural places.
We will follow up in the coming days with additional details about the demonstration for everyone who registers their interest in attending. Can’t travel to Washington? You can still stand with us. Share this invitation, watch the 106 Strong film, make a donation, and help spread the word about what is at stake.
This is not simply a fight over a federal law. It is a fight over whether future generations will inherit the places that tell them who we were.
Sixty years ago, Americans came together to save their history.
On November 9, it’s our turn.
- The Academy of Natural Sciences museum in Philadelphia is closing September 30The Academy of Natural Sciences museum in Philadelphia is closing September 30, and there’s a petition to keep it open.It’s relevant to us as archaeologists. The Academy holds Thomas Jefferson’s Big Bone Lick collection, the Lewis and Clark herbarium, and reference collections that zooarchaeology and paleoethnobotany rely on. The building is expected to be sold, and there’s no announced plan yet for where the collections will go.Petition, if anyone wants to sign or share: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/petition-to-keep-the-academy-of-natural-sciences-open-to-the-public
- Changes that the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is proposing to Federal Section 106
To all our NYSAA members,
We are sending this email to make you aware of changes that the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is proposing to Federal Section 106. Section 106 is the regulation that protects historic properties of all types (buildings, structures, battlefields, archaeological sites, underwater resources, historic and Native landscapes and more) when a construction project is proposed that requires federal funds, a federal permit, or is undertaken by a federal agency.
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) is advancing a sweeping and damaging proposal to rewrite the regulations for Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). If implemented, these new rules would dramatically diminish the effectiveness of the NHPA and the current legal protections for historic and cultural places.
Most of the proposed changes would allow federal agencies to determine at their discretion, if Section 106 applies to a project, of if a project could be excluded from review (for many reasons enumerated in the proposed new rules). More importantly, it makes public participation, and Tribal participation “optional” and at the discretion of the federal agency.
Since the enactment of NHPA 60 years ago, Section 106 has been the foundational requirement for federal agencies to “take into account” the effects of their actions on historic properties and places, enabling public participation and comment in the process, empowering state and local governments and Tribal communities to have a voice in the process, and often improving the project and enhancing the outcome.
Let your governor know that these changes would directly impact your state: