Native Affairs Speaker Fund
The Southeastern Archaeological Conference (SEAC) Native American Affairs Liaison Committee (NAALC) has established a Native Affairs Speakers Fund (NASF) in order to facilitate communication, develop and strengthen relationships, and disseminate information about archaeological research and tribal perspectives and knowledge which is of mutual benefit to the SEAC and to American Indian tribes. The function of the Native Affairs Speakers Fund is to provide travel expenses for either SEAC members to travel to native communities or for tribal representatives to travel to universities, agencies, gatherings, or other designated places to present information and engage in dialogue about issues in the past, present, and future of archaeological research and American Indian heritage preservation.
Proposals & Report
Proposals to the NASF will only be accepted from tribal members and should be made via email to the Native American Affairs Committee at least 90 days in advance of proposed travel. Proposals will include standard title, executive summary, and applicants’ contact information as well as a one-page statement detailing the proposed travel, interactions, goals, and costs. A brief written endorsement from a SEAC member (this could be a tribal or non-tribal person) must accompany the application, describing the mutual benefits of the proposed award to the tribe(s) and the SEAC and related institution(s). This is to say that there must be two parties to each application, one who is the speaker or presenter, and one who represents the venue or audience. A concise budget must also accompany all applications. During this first year, two proposals will be funded. Proposals will be evaluated for up to 30 days and a response of “awarded” or “further information needed-reapply” will be delivered via email.
GSA travel rates should be followed in all proposals unless extraordinary circumstances apply (https://gsa.gov/resources/apps/perdiem/). Requested travel amounts should not exceed $2000 per application. All proposals will be reviewed by the NAALC and evaluated using a proposal scoring sheet (see Speakers Fund Scoring Card). Disbursement of funds will be via reimbursement upon submission of the following to the NAALC: a brief report on the event; receipts for airline, other commercial carrier, or personal vehicle mileage; hotel receipts; any other non-meal, travel-related receipts; and number of per diem quarter-days spent on the funded travel event (for standard GSA rate per diem reimbursement). The NASF may not be used by agencies to fund travel for required compliance consultation mandated under any federal law such as NHPA, NAGPRA, ARPA, NEPA, etc.
Finally, a brief report of approximately one page must be filed with the NAALC by the SEAC member party to awarded proposals. This report on how the event went must be filed to the NAALC within 30 days after the conclusion of the funded travel event. A derivative of the report may be published in the SEAC newsletter or webpage in consultation with the applicants.
