Todd Scissons

Todd Scissons is a tribal member of the Pueblo of Acoma, which is located 50 miles west of Albuquerque. The Pueblo of Acoma is one of three “western” pueblos and is considered one of the oldest, continuously inhabited communities in the United States. Growing up on the Acoma reservation wasn’t easy, but it helped Todd understand the challenges that Indigenous communities face both internally and externally. One of these challenges was tribal preservation which was and still is a big concern, especially when it comes to cultural resources.

These challenges led to Todd wanting to become an archaeologist so he could help his community protect Acoma cultural resources both on and off the reservation. Todd earned his bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Eastern New Mexico University in 1997. Upon completion of his undergraduate studies, he started working for his community as a digital archivist with the Acoma Historic Preservation Office. From that point forward, Todd worked his way up to become the director of the Acoma Historic Preservation Office. In 2018, after 12 years living in Pueblo, Colorado, Todd decided to move back home, whereupon he was hired by the Pueblo of Acoma as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO). As the THPO, he was designated as the NAGPRA coordinator, responsible for tribal consultations, development of agreements and repatriation of Acoma cultural resources. He also assisted other Pueblo tribes with their repatriations, as they did not have the resources, he provided his own time and resources in this endeavor.

Because of his desire to not only protect Acoma cultural resources, but help other Indigenous communities as well, Todd decided to go back to school to attain his master’s degree. He is currently completing his master's in Public Archaeology at UNM. For his thesis, Todd is researching traditional clay sources on and off the Acoma reservation. The objective of this research is to provide data that shows a distinct and proven relationship between native oral traditions and archaeological research. By bridging this gap, Todd’s hope is to improve how archaeology is seen by tribal communities and how archaeology uses native oral traditions. This work has let to Todd’s long-term career goal to establish a tribally owned and operated cultural resource management company (CRM). His goal is to help bridge the gap between tribal and archaeological communities. Todd describes himself as an Indigenous archaeologist, and hopes, through his work he can help other tribal members see the importance of tribal conservation and preservation and get involved by becoming archaeologists, conservators, CRM specialists, etc. In his current role as NAGPRA Collections Associate in the Maxwell, Todd is bring his unique perspectives and expertise to the care, documentation, consultations, and eventual repatriations of NAGPRA relevant collecitons currently held in the Museum.