Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

World Heritage Day, the International Day for Monuments and Sites, is being celebrated today--April 18. This year’s theme is Heritage for Generations to encourage intergenerational transfer of knowledge and celebrate youth leadership in cultural heritage.

Additionally, April is National Volunteer Month and the ACHP is honoring those who volunteer their time for historic preservation.

HistoriCorps, an organization that engages volunteers in historic preservation projects on public lands throughout the U.S., was designated as a Preserve America Steward for demonstrating a successful use of volunteer time and commitment in order to help care for the nation’s historic heritage.

The ACHP hosted a meeting on April 18 with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Tribal Working Group to introduce the members to the National Historic Preservation Act and Section 106. Office of Native American Affairs Director Valerie Hauser gave an overview of the ACHP and how the office works to assist tribes. Office of Federal Agency Programs Director Reid Nelson talked about the Section 106 process. Working group members were encouraged to take the free webinar, What is Section 106?

A volunteer effort in Colorado has brought into focus the plight of Japanese Americans during World War II. Granada High School principal John Hopper was a social studies teacher in 1993 when he and his students embarked on a mission to preserve and interpret the remains of the Granada Relocation Center, better known as Amache. The National Historic Landmark is the most intact of the 10 camps for the incarceration of Japanese Americans. More than 7,000 Japanese, mostly American citizens, were imprisoned there from 1942 to 1945.

April is National Volunteer Month, celebrating those who give of themselves by volunteering their time, energy, and skills to serving our communities and helping others. During this month and all year long, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation salutes the people and organizations who volunteer to support the cause of historic preservation.

By Katherine Slick, historic preservation consultant, ACHP Foundation President

It may be hard to imagine in an election year with a record number of women running for local, state, and national offices that 170 years ago women did not have the right to vote. In July 1848, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and a small group of women launched a peaceful revolution that has changed the world–the Women’s Rights Movement. At a convention in Seneca Falls, New York, 68 women and 32 men signed a Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions that included women’s suffrage. However, that same year in a narrowly defeated bill, the Washington Territorial legislators denied women the right to cast a ballot.