蘑菇短视频

Over his more-than-a-decade-long career, 蘑菇短视频 alumnus Beau Carroll, chief archaeologist of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, has helped orchestrate the recovery and protection of thousands of Indigenous peoples鈥� remains, belongings and cultural sites.

This year, he and his team鈥檚 accomplishments saw new and prominent recognition.

Carroll was chosen in late August to receive the 2026 Historic Preservation Award from the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums (ATALM), a national nonprofit that celebrates the work of Indigenous scholars and working advocates across the country.

Later this month, he鈥檒l travel to Spokane, Washington, to accept the honor and speak alongside a host of professional colleagues receiving other Guardians of Culture and Lifestyle Awards at the International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries and Museums.

It follows a pattern of other such partnerships that have defined and fueled Carroll鈥檚 career in service.

 For the past 12 years, Carroll has worked with a dedicated team at the EBCI鈥檚 Tribal Historic Preservation Office to collaborate with public, private and governmental institutions and individuals to preserve Cherokee culture and enshrine tribal knowledge for years to come.

鈥淚 think the award is meaningful because it recognizes the work of our entire office. A lot of historic preservation happens behind the scenes,鈥� Carroll said. 鈥淲e are constantly working to protect Cherokee places, our ancestors, our history and our cultural knowledge, often in situations where the public will never know that work happened.鈥�

When asked how the THPO accomplishes this work and how the scope of their responsibilities might differ from what archaeology students expect, Carroll describes how their dynamic workdays demand skills far outside of those required for fieldwork and demand an essential respect for the significance of their stewardship.

鈥淎rchaeological training gives you tools, but working for a Tribal Nation requires you to understand that these are not simply 鈥榬esources鈥� or academic subjects. These are our ancestors, our places, our history and sometimes knowledge that was never intended to be available to everyone,鈥� Carroll said.

鈥淭here is also an enormous amount of work that happens before anyone ever goes into the field. We review projects, laws, reports, maps and records; negotiate with agencies and institutions; participate in consultation; and develop agreements and policies. You have to understand archaeology, federal law, Tribal law, history, policy and cultural concerns and figure out how all of those things apply to a real situation.鈥�

Sometimes preservation isn鈥檛 possible, Carroll identifies as well, and it鈥檚 a difficult reality students will face as they realize the weighty task of balancing expanding infrastructure for tribal communities with protecting what can鈥檛 be forgotten.

鈥淚f I boil it down, I want future generations of Cherokee people to be able to return to these places and have the same kind of experiences that I have been privileged to have,鈥� Carroll said.

鈥淚 don't just want the places to exist. I want the cultural knowledge connected to them to be retained and passed on so that a Cherokee person standing there generations from now doesn't simply know what that place is. I want them to know what it means.鈥�

Carroll鈥檚 professors at 蘑菇短视频shared praise for their former student.

鈥淚 am very proud to have been one of Beau's professors here at WCU. He is one of the most thoughtful and intentional students I have ever had,鈥� said Jane Eastman, associate professor of anthropology and sociology.

 鈥淲hat Beau has done since graduating from 蘑菇短视频speaks very much to his character and his commitment to serving his community and to archaeology as a discipline. He has always been willing to come back to 蘑菇短视频and share his perspectives and experiences with current students, and he has accepted the responsibility of representing EBCI interests in terms of ancestral sites and preservation and protection of material culture,鈥� Eastman said.

 鈥淚t gives us all confidence to know that he is in this leadership position at the EBCI Tribal Historic Preservation Office.鈥�

 鈥淒r. Carroll and his colleagues at the THPO do invaluable work protecting Cherokee places and heritage, and this benefits not just the Eastern Band, but all of us who care about this region and these Cherokee mountains,鈥� said Andrew Denson, director of the Cherokee studies program. 鈥淲e鈥檙e proud that 蘑菇短视频was part of Dr. Carroll鈥檚 education and grateful that we can continue working in partnership with the EBCI THPO.鈥�

 Professor Lisa Lefler taught Carroll in a Native Health course and later worked with him on the EBCI鈥檚 Cultural Institutional Review Board. They also share an alma mater as alumni of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Lefler recalls witnessing Carroll鈥檚 dissertation defense and being brought to tears.

 鈥淏eau is speaking to issues that are so important to Indigenous and Native people, and he just made us all proud that day,鈥� Lefler said.

 Carroll, a dual student of anthropology and Cherokee studies, described 蘑菇短视频as the place where he first discovered and explored his interests in archaeology and where he first considered how he might apply his studies to help in the protection of Cherokee people and Cherokee history.

 Carroll says his relationship with 蘑菇短视频has continued through professional partnerships on behalf of the Tribe and described hopes of honoring the work of his colleagues and predecessors by expanding their preservation efforts, and in so doing, secure a future past the end of his own career.

鈥淯ltimately, I want future generations of Cherokee people to inherit the knowledge that allows them to stand in these places and know what they mean,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 want them to understand their relationship to those places and, through that connection, have a deeper understanding of who they are, where they come from, and why it is important to carry that knowledge forward and pass it on to the generations that come after them.鈥�