January 21, 2022
Linda Blaser
Rebecca Graff to recommend future Illinois historic sites as state advisory council member
Associate Professor of Anthropology Rebecca Graff will have a hand in making Illlinois history. An urban archaeologist, Graff was recently appointed to serve on the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council.
The Council focuses on recommending places in Illinois to be named to the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is a National Park Service program that coordinates and supports public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources.
In addition, the Council advises the State Historic Preservation Office on matters pertaining to historic preservation throughout the state of Illinois.
“The work I will be doing over the next three years is exciting for several reasons: it informs my current research project about the entanglements between architectural preservation and archaeological practice; it will help bring awareness of historic events and people as mediated between the built environment in Illinois; and by participating in this process I hope to understand how to increase diversity and representation in National Register listings,” Graff said.
As of 2020, only 2 percent of the 90,000 locations listed on the National Register are sites associated with Black history. “I hope that our Lake Forest College-supported area archaeology can ultimately help change that,” she said.
The Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council meets three times a year and is comprised of 15 members. Graff is one of three archaeologists on the Council and will serve a three-year term.