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We made it! Today was a long day of traveling and trying our best to stay warm. I thought we had left the cold weather behind in Indiana…but it seems that we brought the cold weather along with us! Our group boarded our flight at 8:00 am and proceeded to hang out on the tarmac for over 2 hours until our plane was warm enough to take flight (it was too cold for the engines to start). According to local news back home, it was -11 degrees outside but felt like -29 degrees. After defrosting our plane, our group was able to make the first leg of our trip to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

Unfortunately, because our flight was delayed our group had to book it to our next flight in another terminal so we wouldn’t miss it. After arriving in San Antonio and getting our rental van, our first stop was Torchy’s Tacos! I don’t know if it was a long day of traveling or having amazing tex-mex food again but those tacos hit the spot. After a quick lunch, our group made our way to Harlingen, Texas.

The ride to Harlingen was a long one (about 4 hours) but it went by fairly quickly. The drive was a bit unnerving because there is a stretch of highway that maybe had one or two small towns and a ‘no services for 60 miles’ sign posted along the side of the road. Upon arriving in Harlingen and checking into our hotel, we made a quick trip to our favorite grocery store: HEB. For dinner, our group got some tamales and then sat down to start our nightly ritual. As we sit here around the table, I know we are sharing a similar feeling of exhaustion from the long day of traveling. What makes this comical, is that this will be the LEAST tired we will feel during our time in Harlingen. I’m excited for what tomorrow brings and to finally get this field season started.

–Jess

Texas raised, this cold weather is something I was hoping to leave behind in Indy for a while! Regardless, I’m sure I speak for the whole team when I say that the weather will not get us down. If Texas and Indy have anything in common it is the flakiness of the weather; warm one day, cold the next. According to the forecast, the temperatures during our time here will range between 30 and 75 degrees; luckily my boy scout days taught me to come prepared for anything.

As I type this blog post, our team is being debriefed on the situation here in Willacy county. While I am the rookie, this field season will be new to everyone as we are in a new county, on private property with potentially dramatically different soil than past seasons. The many unknowns that make this trip new and unnerving also make it exciting. Tomorrow morning we get to sleep in a bit as large power equipment prepares our site for us, a nice reprieve before our next eight days of early rising. Even so,  only a few hours remain before our team is out in the field working tirelessly in the effort to bring peace to families of those lost to the harsh south Texas environment.

–Jordan

“Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All” is a phrase we hear and see a lot this time of the year. It’s displayed in lights, sung in songs and printed on Christmas cards.  But what does that phrase truly mean or in today’s society does it mean anything at all? And who, if anyone truly works towards those lofty goals of world peace and extending goodwill to all?

Rebellious Humanitarianism –As we prepare to leave for the border I am confronted with the stark contrast of the love and joy that come with Christmastime and the thundering call for exclusion of all “others”.  On the one hand I was raised to treat others the way I want to be treated, yet extending dignity and basic human rights to the “others” is considered a form of rebellion. At what point did humanitarianism become an act of disobedience? If humanitarianism is the promotion of human welfare, than using the term rebellious humanitarianism suggests that not all deserve health, happiness or freedom in every situation.

Radical Hospitality — I recently read a letter from the Colibri Center for human Rights that talked about giving radical hospitality.  About going beyond all expectations to do what is right and not necessarily what is easy. Hospitality refers to the warm reception of guests, visitors, or strangers. Radical means advocating for change in a political or social context. Putting the word radical in front of hospitality sends a clear message that hospitality in certain contexts is not extended to all. That not all are welcome here.

Political Caregiving — In the Forward to the book “Sociopolitics of Migrant Death and Repatriation: Perspectives from Forensic Science“, Dr. Robin Reineke speaks about caring for certain groups of people in a way that makes caregiving political. That advocating for  marginalized groups by providing dignity in life and in death is an act of social justice, and can bring to light accountabilities that are being hidden from the masses. To care for someone is to protect them. However, in certain contexts providing care goes against the state and suggests that not all should be cared for.

So – all are not welcome, not all are deemed worthy of health, happiness and freedom, and not all deserve care and protection – unless you are practicing rebellious, radical or politicized acts of kindness.  Tomorrow the Beyond Borders Team will embark to the Texas Borderlands to volunteer our time in working towards Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All.

We hope 2018 brings you and your loved ones health, happiness and feelings of safety and freedom.

~KEL

It is almost unbelievable that in less than two weeks (as I write this) I will be on my way to Willacy County, Texas to begin participating in the Beyond Borders mission. I have been passionate about applying an anthropological approach to humanitarian efforts for years now, but this will be my first experience. I want to be as informed as possible before arriving in Texas, so I have been spending some time over winter-break reading about this relatively silent mass disaster that is taking place in our country. It is truly heartbreaking to hear some of the personal stories of those involved, so I am both excited and nervous to embrace the challenges ahead. However, I am confident our team will work together to reach our designated goals.

This January, we will be solely focused on exhumation, and I will assume the position of mapping apprentice. Leann, the current mapping expert for our team, has gained a great deal of valuable experience through Beyond Borders, and other cases in which the University of Indianapolis has assisted law enforcement agencies in Indiana. Every exhumation varies depending on the circumstances, landmarks, vegetation, soil, weather, and so many other factors that I am sure to discover once we get started. I feel so incredibly grateful to have been provided this opportunity because the ability to create accurate hand-drawn and digital maps is such an essential technical skill that is needed for every archaeological situation. I have big shoes to fill as Leann’s apprentice, but I am positive she will be an incredible mentor!

As the trip approaches, I keep thinking about how much this experience is likely to affect my career as an anthropologist and human biologist for the rest of my life. I was not expecting to be nervous or anxious, but as I continue packing and shopping for supplies the reality is sinking in. Even after completing my first semester of graduate school, I feel a bit rusty in osteology. There is so much to learn and constantly refresh upon when pursuing a career in forensic anthropology. As a relatively new student in the program, I hope that I have a strong, solid foundation that will enable me to quickly grasp the methodologies we employ. After hearing all the stories from the students who went to Texas for previous field seasons, I realized how many amazing memories are made during these trips with Beyond Borders. I look forward to meeting professors and students at Texas State University, law enforcement officers, and community members who are also involved in the project. Even though the work days may be brutal at times, working through it alongside my team members will allow me to get to know them on such a more personal level. I am eager to be part of the new memories, laughs, meals, car rides, and moments back at the hotel. This trip will be my first time in Texas, and I cannot imagine a better, more meaningful way to check another state off the list.

January 2, 2018…hurry up and come sooner!

Sammi