Category Archives: Snapshots

Random things about us

The Mountain, Desert & Coastal Forensic Anthropologists Meeting

Snapshots
Mountain Desert and Coastal Forensic Anthropologists logo, green with a puzzle of a skull missing its last piece
MD&C

Tomorrow we leave for the Mountain, Desert & Coastal (MD&C) Forensic Anthropologists meeting being held in Boulder City, NV on the shores of beautiful Lake Mead.  Jessica, Erica, Ryan, Justin and I will be traveling to present about our work on migrant death and interact with other forensic scientists involved in the same type of human rights work.  Cheneta is currently enrolled in a class for the first summer semester and unfortunately will not be able to join us.

 At this year’s MD&C meeting we will give a presentation on the skeletal analysis of the unidentified migrants we are currently analyzing in the University of Indianapolis Archeology & Forensics Laboratory.  This will allow us the opportunity to present the challenges associated with the identification of these individuals to the forensic science community.  In addition, we will get to interact with other forensic anthropologists working with issues of migrant death.  Dr. Lori Baker, who is directing the identification efforts in Brooks County, will be at the meeting.  Dr. Bruce Anderson of the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME) who works with unidentified migrants in AZ and Robin Reineke of The Colibrí Center for Human Rights will also be in attendance.  This will provide an invaluable opportunity to discuss the various approaches and challenges to migrant death issues with other individuals who work with these types of cases on a constant basis.

The University of Indianapolis will be well represented at the meeting this year. In addition to the presentation on human rights in South Texas, Jessica, Erica, Justin and Ryan each have a second presentation focusing on forensic casework or projects at UIndy, giving us a total of five presentations this year (An Interesting Case Study from Indiana by Jessica Campbell & Stephen Nawrocki, A Case of Dismemberment in Northern Indiana by Erica Christensen & Krista Latham, Over the River and Through the Woods by Justin Maiers & Krista Latham and No Bones About It: Projects at UIndy Outside of Forensic Anthropology by Ryan Strand) .  I will be moderating this year and organized the conference schedule. UIndy alum Meg Madonna will be handling fundraising.  The conference raises money for student travel and research grants.   Justin is coordinating the annual bone quiz, which tests the skeletal knowledge of its attendees.  Jessica is in charge of organizing the conference center and Ryan and Justin will be the grill masters at our annual Buffalo Chip dinner.

Many people on top of a rock hiking
Hiking near Lake Mead. Photo from the 2013 MD&C meeting.

In addition, the students will get to interact with some of the founders of the field of forensic anthropology and meet award winning author Aaron Elkins.  We will have time for some fun while we are there as well. We will get to do some climbing, swimming and sightseeing.  It will be a nice mix of work and a little relaxation before we leave for two hard weeks of digging in the Texas sun.

 Dr. Krista Latham

Excitement and Opportunities

Snapshots

Everything is coming so quickly! The trip is just  a couple weeks away and I know it will come faster than I can imagine. I have been shopping for items to take with me – probably over shopping but better safe than sorry. I am so excited to be apart of this team and I am so grateful for the opportunity. I will probably say that countless times during this blog. This is allowing me to have the opportunity of a life time and I am blessed to be in this position. I am excited to get the know the team better. Everyone is so nice and I am sure with all the fun personalities it will be a trip to remember. I have a lot  to learn.

The most recent item that I have purchased are my gloves and hopefully I will purchase my cargo pants this weekend which should complete my list . The most important thing that I will be packing I think is my phone and iPad charger. Although I will probably not have much time for them I have to have them charged. I find myself thinking more about what I am going to pack my belonging in instead of what I am actually packing (suitcase or duffel bag).

Book cover of Holes by Louis Sachar
Holes

While I am in Texas I will be bird watching for a class that I am finishing  for my Human Biology degree.  I have become very interested in birds although a lot of them look the same it is very relaxing and I will post the new birds that I see while down there. I have a feeling that I will have a “holes” experience. When I read the book they discussed how much people  liked the idea of digging a hole until they actually did it. I am sure with being the rookie there will be tricks to that I will need to learn along the way.

As always I am excited to fly and I love traveling by planes. I have told my parents and friends about the trip since I was told that I would have the opportunity to go. I am excited that they will be able to follow along as I experience new things. Hopefully when we first arrive in Texas I will be able to have sushi. I think that is the one food that I want to try most while down south. As the team will soon learn about me I love food and there are not too many things that I will not try.

Cheneta Morrison

A Necessary Item on my Packing List

Reflections, Snapshots

Although the trip is still a few weeks away, I’ve started to make a few lists and get things organized. The basic essentials for any travel are pretty straightforward, and so making that list isn’t a problem. We have been making a few trips to collect all of the field gear we’ll be using, and we’ve been crossing items off that list slowly and surely. For me, the list I’ve been working on the most is the list of everything else I might need other than the basic travel items and field gear. While the list is a difficult one, there is one necessity on the list that I had no difficulty including, and I smile every time I see it on my list: my cowboy boots.

Cowboy boots next to a red bag
These boots

I was born and raised in Texas, but it wasn’t until I got down to San Marcos, TX that I realized how important a good set of cowboy boots are. I lived around Dallas, TX for all of my life up until college, and cowboy boots weren’t a huge thing in the city throughout high school. Down in San Marcos I met other Texans from all over the state and learned a lot about Texas culture. I learned to two-step within the first few months, but I had to two-step in my loafers because I didn’t have any boots. A year later while exploring an antique shop in the nearby city of Gruene, I found an old set of cowboy boots that fit perfectly. With holes in the soles and worn-in heels, these boots were far from brand new, and I absolutely loved them for the character. I danced in them at Gruene Hall that night, the oldest dance hall in Texas, and wore them for a few weeks straight afterwards.

Here in Indiana, I try and pull them out every now and then. I’m far from being any kind of cowboy, but wearing those boots makes me feel like I’m back at home. Every time an old wooden floor creaks under my boots, I think of Gruene Hall and my old house in San Marcos. Every time I put my boots on, I feel like I’m about to head out to Austin for another Texas night. And so I’m bringing them with me in a few weeks so I can get a little bit of Texas dirt on them again. I won’t be using them in the field of course, but when we fly into San Antonio, I’ll be that guy holding up the security line at the airport as I struggle to get my boots off.

I am incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to assist with this human rights crisis in my home state. This work being done in Falfurrias, to me, embodies many of Texas’ most important cultural beliefs. John Steinbeck once wrote: “For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America.” I couldn’t agree more with Steinbeck after participating in the work in Falfurrias last year. Community members are graciously giving anything they can to help people they haven’t met. Law enforcement and search and rescue teams are passionately working every day to find survivors and save as many people as they can. These selfless actions from the community are extremely humbling and inspiring, and while I know that anybody from any state and any country would do the same, I am proud nonetheless to be from a place with such incredible people.

And so the most Texan item I own, my pair of cowboy boots, is coming with me. Not only am I bringing my boots as a reminder of where I’m from, but also as a homage to the rich, colorful, and passionate culture of Texas.

Ryan Strand