Crow Canyon Interns: A Conversation with Nick Long
Crow Canyon Intern, 2023
We always love tracking the careers and journeys of Crow Canyon interns! Here, we share a conversation with Nick Long, who was an intern in 2023 and graduated with his M.A. as part of the first cohort of students in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Cultural Heritage Studies program. He now serves as Auburn University’s NAGPRA Assistant in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Social Work.
(The following answers have been edited for space and clarity.)
Q: What initially drew you to apply for the internship at Crow Canyon?
A: I was attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham to get my master’s degree in Cultural Heritage Studies (CHS). As a part of the program, students do not do a thesis; instead you either do a capstone project, or an internship related to Cultural Heritage Studies. The program was brand new at the time, so thanks to Dr. Cummings, the director of the program, I became a graduate assistant to look up different internships for present and future students of the CHS program. While I was researching internships, Crow Canyon came up on my radar and I asked a few mentors of mine (Shoutout to Dr. Pyszka of AUM and Dr. Downs of UAB!). They informed me of the prestige and opportunities I could have with Crow Canyon if I were to get an internship there. On top of that, I was really impressed with the institution and how educational it was for archaeologists.
Q: Can you describe a moment or project from your time at Crow Canyon that left a lasting impression?
A: That’s hard to pick just one, so I have a few that stand out for me. Getting to see some of the archaeological sites in the Cortez region was incredible. To see these sites, the preservation, and the objects within them is not common where I come from. Going to Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico with Crow Canyon’s Dr. Ryan was amazing. To just see the great houses was incredible, but to be able to go inside and really get a sense of the work that the Ancestral Pueblo people did was mind-blowing. Another site I will never forget was when Crow Canyon’s Dr. Dombrosky took us to Mesa Verde National Park where we got a behind the scenes tour. To see Balcony House with a small group of Crow Canyon people and no tourists was amazing. To be there and to really think about the size, location, and the skills that it took to build was incredible. Another moment that I was very proud of was my final project as a lab intern. I wrote a conference-style paper about the gaming pieces from the Haynie site. It was so cool to work with these specialized artifacts. It was also great to have so many resources, references, and people that I could use. Kate and Jamie in the lab were incredibly helpful and constantly reassured me that I was going in the right direction, even when I felt like I wasn’t. Finally, going to the Southern Ute Museum with Crow Canyon’s Becky Hammond was also amazing. I have a passion for archaeological collections and museum work, so to see how well it was run and taken care of was incredible.
Q: In what ways did your internship shape or influence your professional goals?
A: The biggest thing I took away was getting the perspective of Indigenous people and Indigenous people who did archaeology. Before Crow Canyon, I had mostly done non-Indigenous related archaeological work. I had done some work with some proto-historic and post-colonized Indigenous artifacts, but that was about it. I told myself before I went to Crow Canyon that I really wanted to get the perspective of archaeology from Indigenous people. Having that mindset going in really opened my mind to things that I had never thought about. From Rebecca Hammond showing us her community and places that were very important for her tribe—the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe—to Jon Ghahate helping me with my final project. From Alicia Benally sitting down with me and explaining certain things about being Indigenous that only an Indigenous person can truly understand, to a fellow intern (now employee), Rebecca Renteria sitting with me and having deep conversations on what it’s like to be Indigenous and an archaeologist. I also must give a BIG shout out to Mowana Lomaomvaya, who was an Indigenous Scholar in Residence during my internship. A deep conversation with her about spirituality, archaeology, and Indigenous perspectives really opened my eyes to biases I had about certain things and made me reevaluate my thoughts and opinions. This relates to my professional goals because before I went to Crow Canyon, I wanted to represent my mentors and show that they had taught me well; to make them proud of what they did for me. When I left Crow Canyon, I wanted to make sure that all the Indigenous people who sat down with me and took time to talk to me would be proud of the work I did after Crow Canyon. It made me realize that If I truly want to be a good archaeologist, then whatever project I am working on, I really need to think about the people related to the site and the people who are connected to them.
Q: What led you to your current position or this recent opportunity at Auburn University?
A: I received my bachelor’s degree at Auburn University at Montgomery so I had some connection with the main campus. I heard about the NAGPRA position from a former professor a couple of months after graduating. I have always had an interest in collections management, NAGPRA, and ethics in archaeology, so I decided to apply for the job. Luckily, for me, I got the position, and it really is something that I enjoy doing.
Q: What excites you most about the work you’re doing now?
A: So many things excited me about this opportunity: getting to learn about the history of the Southeastern region through the lens of archaeology, meeting other NAGPRA practitioners who are in this field, getting to work with students and helping them to cultivate a passion and interest in archaeology, getting to work on an archaeological collection, and most importantly, doing archaeological related work that is not only ethical, but beneficial for the field and Indigenous communities.
Q: What’s next for any goals or projects on the horizon?
A: I would love to go out into my community and educate people about archaeology, whether within Auburn University or local schools in the state. I would also love to develop an exchange program for archaeology students: where students from the Southeastern region of the U.S. go to the Southwestern region of the country, and vice versa to show the differences and similarities of what archaeology is like. Ultimately, one day, I would like to get a Ph.D. and try to use my skills not just for teaching about archaeology but use the field of archaeology as a tool of positivity for local communities—Indigenous and non-Indigenous. When I die, I want to leave this world a better place than I left it, and I really think I can do that with archaeology.
Q: What advice would you give to future Crow Canyon interns or early-career professionals in cultural heritage?
A: People who typically work in the field of Cultural Heritage work with certain subjects, objects, and people with whom they have no connection. Academia can tend to give people an ego to the point of being in their own world and only certain perspectives matter. While I am not religious at all, my mother always told me growing up that God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason. Really listen to other perspectives and make sure that your mind is open to things. A former sociology professor, Dr. Feltmate, once told me, it’s okay to stand on the shoulders of giants to help get a better view. One piece of advice that I would like to give to any future Crow Canyon intern is to be open-minded, respectful to everyone around you, be humble, and most importantly, wipe the table up after breakfast, lunch, and dinner—the kitchen works hard to provide for us! Finally, thank you to everyone at Crow Canyon for giving me an experience that has left a lasting impression on me and is something I will never forget for the rest of my life. I mentioned some people in this interview, but that doesn’t mean only certain people influenced me. I truly am thankful for my experience and want the WHOLE staff of Crow Canyon to know that. Crow Canyon will always have a special place in my heart, and I don’t think I can come up with actions or words that show how appreciative I am. But it doesn’t mean I can’t try, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you and I hope to do y’all proud.