Statement

of support for a Memorandum of Understanding between Belize and the United States of America under the Cultural Property Implementation Act Christina Luke Departments of Archaeology and Anthropology, Boston University, 2 November 2011 I am practicing field archaeologist and heritage specialist with an expertise in Latin America and the eastern Mediterranean. I teach courses in archaeology, heritage, diplomacy and research at Boston University. My scholarly research focuses on heritage preservation and archaeology in Central America, the Balkans and Anatolia. This letter supports the request from Belize for a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States under the Cultural Property Implementation Act. I support the proposed Memorandum of Understanding between Belize and the United States. In this letter I address the fourth determination of the CPIA and provide commentary for the importance of proactive measures under Article II, if the proposed MoU is successful. I point also to the future opportunity for a multilateral agreement in Central America. The research programs aimed at understanding the layers of history in Belize form a dynamic sphere of interaction for collaboration among multiple different communities: museum, ministry, indigenous and public, not necessarily mutually exclusive. The academic sphere professors and students form a critical component in the on the ground cultural diplomacy aspect of reaching across international boundaries: each year hundreds of students work with U.S. and Belizean professionals and public communities. It is through these interactions that on-going dialogues may begin and may continue, forming sustained, people-to- people networks that may last for several years. For these reasons alone, I see the proposed MoU significant for the awareness of not only the past, but also providing opportunities for intercultural exchange and mutual understanding in the present. It is through meeting and working with colleagues and friends that we will find solutions to quell on-going plunder, to continue efforts to protect, preserve and present the archaeological and ethnographic heritage, and to understand better the place of market-led demand. Under Article II of any future MoU between the U.S. and Belize, I recommend that the State Department work towards a multilateral agreement for those countries with MoUs under the CPIA (Section 303(a)(2)(B) of 19 U.S.C. 2602): Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. A regional approach to heritage preservation offers a forward thinking model that has the potential to consider cultural landscapes as dynamic entities, not necessarily defined by national boundaries. In addition, future renewals of the respective MoUs in Central America should cover not only Pre-Columbian, but also Colonial, the colonial past in equal or greater jeopardy. Such initiatives will parallel other initiatives aimed at preservation of both colonial and pre-Columbian monuments and landscapes in Central America, many sponsored by the State Department: U.S. Speakers Program, Fulbright, and the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. A multilateral agreement that considers the Pre-Columbian and Colonial periods as components of the living landscapes of Belize would represent forward thinking approaches to the value of heritage to society. For these reasons, I support the proposed MoU between Belize and the U.S. It is through international collaboration that we will find ways to push forward with a long-term goal of sustainable preservation.