The Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS) is delighted to announce the receipt of a $100,000 grant through the Chancellor’s Call to Action Initiative at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.). This grant will support the project entitled, “Homelands and Harvests: Innovating Change through Indigenous Foodways, Agriculture, and Education,” which aims to catalyze systemic change by cultivating indigenous-centered research and educational partnerships with Tribal Nations.
Under the leadership of Elizabeth Watts Malouchus, head of Collaborative Research Engagement (CRE) at ISAS, this cross-disciplinary collaborative pilot program will bring together descendant Tribal Nations for whom Illinois is an ancestral homeland with U. of I. scholars. Through consultation and developing collaboration, the project endeavors to leverage archaeological collections to "address Tribal issues and research priorities and create pathways for Indigenous students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Mathematics.” The project is designed to be flexible so that collections, research, and educational opportunities will be steered by Tribal partners and could potentially include investigating remarkably preserved feasting debris that could shed light on ancestral cuisine and agricultural practices.
CRE, the newest section at ISAS, is dedicated to better serving descendant communities in Illinois, including sovereign Tribal Nations. The “Homelands and Harvests” project exemplifies CRE's commitment to fostering equitable and reciprocal partnerships with descendant communities
Sean C. Garrick, Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, emphasized the significance of projects like these, stating, “Of particular interest are projects that support the vision of the university’s Campus/Community Compact to Accelerate Social Justice and that partner with community organizations to solve and/or understand historical and current social injustices as they intersect with race.”
In July 2020, Chancellor Jones announced a $2 million annual commitment as part of the Call to Action Research Program, aimed at bolstering and broadening cross-disciplinary research collaborations and addressing systemic bias and social injustice. Now in its third year of funding, the Call to Action Research Program has allocated over $1.1 million for 12 projects, spanning research themes of societal impact, systemic institutional change, and community-based innovation.