Intern and Fellow Highlight: Melissa Hurtado

Melissa (furthest right) with the Boston Archaeology Program Team on the Boston Common before a field day.

Courtesy of Joe Bagley and Melissa Hurtado.

You may have heard of cultural resources, but what exactly does this work entail and what type of work do interns and fellows do? Find out through this intern and fellow highlight series that features the work of our interns and fellows service wide.

Everyone has a personal connection to cultural resources. Cultural resources help us define what makes us human through understanding the evidence we leave behind and continue to create today. This can include anything from archives, archaeological sites, museum collections, structures and cultural landscapes, and resources with significance to a group of people traditionally associated with them.

To learn more about cultural resources, visit the Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science Directorate page.

So... What exactly does a cultural resource internship look like?

Interns and fellows work with multiple offices, programs, and parks through partner organizations such as the American Conservation Experience (ACE) and National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE). They work on various projects that range from learning about tribal consultation and policy to telling the stories of women in World War II and even to connecting local communities with public history.

Their work adds value to the National Park Service and supports our mission to preserve for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.

Meet Melissa Hurtado (she/her), who is the American Conservation Experience (ACE) Heritage Education Fellow at NPS Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education (CROIE).

Headshot of Melissa.

Courtesy of Melissa Hurtado and Charcoal Magazine.

Tell me a little bit about yourself? How did you get started in the field, your background, hobbies, etc...

I am someone who is interested in looking at and understanding the world through various perspectives. For this reason, I chose to pursue archeology and anthropology and work in various internships that required a deep understanding of zooarchaeology, historical ecology, community-based research, climate consciousness, science communication, and heritage education.

My family and I immigrated from Colombia when I was in elementary school and settled in Miami, Florida. I started my anthropology journey at Miami Dade Community College after I had chosen my major purely based on the fact that it was one of the first choices on a list of available majors. While in school, I was able to participate in a Heritage Monitoring Scouts training at the Miami Circle with the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) that introduced me to the field of archaeology. I transferred after two years to Boston University where I received my BA/MA in archaeology with a minor in anthropology. It was during this time that I grew a passion for zooarchaeology and community based archaeology after conducting research through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) at BU’s Zooarchaeology Lab. My research focused on aging Northern fur seal bones from a site in Kodiak Island, Alaska to better understand the evolution of Alutiiq foodways due to coastal climate change and colonialism. This research was part of a broader project in collaboration with the Alutiiq Museum and the BU Zooarchaeology lab.

During my junior year in 2019, I started applying to paid internships during the summers to sustain myself as many other first-generation students do. My first experience working for the NPS was at the Archeology Program through the Latino Heritage Internship Program (LHIP) where I worked on digital interpretation of Latino archaeology and hosted a panel event for Latino Conservation Week. I continued this work through National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE) for the next year. The following summer I applied to be a Cultural Resources Diversity Internship Program (CRDIP) Intern through the American Conservation Experience (ACE) to work on the Boston Harbor Islands Archaeology Climate Action Plan and make the creations (archaeology collections of the BHI) accessible to the Massachusett Tribe. This project is a collaborative effort among Boston-area archaeologists, the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag, and climate change experts to proactively address the loss of the cultural landscapes on the Boston Harbor Islands due to climate change.

After I graduated from my BA/MA in December of 2021, I was unsure where life would take me. I decided to apply for my fourth opportunity with the NPS as the Heritage Education Fellow through ACE at the Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education. I have been working in this position since March 2022 and has allowed me to learn more about historic preservation, public history, and digital humanities. In early August I will start a new position as the Museum Curator for the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. I was hired for this position through a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) certificate which I highly recommend anyone get if they are interested getting a job with the NPS. In my free time I like to ride my bike, make music playlists, and take film photography.

Melissa and student on a dig at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse for a 3 day FPAN archaeology
bootcamp.

Courtesy of Melissa Hurtado and FPAN.

Tell us a little bit about what you do in your position?

As the Heritage Education fellow I work on the Telling All Americans’ Stories Program. This means I interpret stories of underrepresented people and places for the general public. I work on four major projects at CROIE aside from other various tasks. These projects require me to collaborate with people and mediate conversation with outside contributors. I’ve made connections bridging different offices together as well as connections with artists, journalists, photographers, historians, archaeologists, and archivist.

My first project is creating content for the Telling All Americans’ Stories Program website. I co-wrote two “Places of” articles during my first couple of months on Latino LGBTQ Gathering spaces and Wilmigton, NC as a WWII Heritage City with Ella Wagner and Jade Ryerson. My second project is working with Paloma Bolasny on the Cultural Resources Youth Employment Program where I’ve featured intern stories and created the CRYEP web page. My third project is working with four members of the CROIE team to create an interactive article as part of the Pathways Through American History on telling the overlapping story of Japanese incarceration and the Mendez v. Westminster case. Lastly, I am co-creating a digital interactive multimedia project with Hermán Luis Chávez titledOíste? Listening to the Salsa Stories of Afro Latin Music for the upcoming Latino Subject Site (that I am also creating in collaboration with the Office of Communications.) Oíste? connects to topics of the past, present, and future by exploring stories of salsa’s Afro Latin roots, understanding its role in US history, and highlighting its impacts on society today.

If you met a younger version of yourself, what would you tell them about your current career
trajectory?

Don’t think, just do. Find trusted mentors and don’t be afraid to reach out to them with any questions. I would also tell them to not be so afraid to fail or be good enough. Just by existing, you’re doing a great job.

How do you see the field of cultural resources changing in the coming years?

I see it changing a lot – both at a fast rate but also a slow pace. There are many new perspectives that everyone, even old time archaeologists, are adopting for the better of the field. However, these perspectives often come from TEK and Indigenous perspectives that many have been advocating for, for decades. I see more genuine community-based work and inclusion in the field. Archaeology itself was built on colonialist ideals so the push for decolonizing, or better yet Indigenizing the field is something every archaeologists has to work towards everyday.

I tell people that being an archaeologists means to have a mini existential crisis everyday. I say this because I constantly ask myself if the work I am doing is contributing to an unethical system or if its part of the ongoing revolution of changing the field for better and doing meaningful work… On another note, I would like to see a bigger effort on collections care and accessibility since there are so many collections sitting in forgotten basements.

Melissa with the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Natural Resources team after a day planting native plants on the Boston Harbor Islands.

Courtesy of Marc Albert and Melissa Hurtado.

Where do you hope to see yourself in the future?

I want to further bridge the gap of my archaeology and history interests to my visual creative interest in photography. I am not entirely sure how this will play out but it's something I want to work towards. Additionally, I want to publish scholarly articles on some of the research I’ve done as well as sharpen my research skills as a whole. I see myself potentially going back to school, maybe not to do a PhD but completing certificates or continuing studies classes. I want to continue learning, no matter what stage I am in my career. I think this mindset will take me far in life and allow me to take advantage of different opportunities that come my way.