Committee Charge

The AAA Committee on Minority Issues in Anthropology is dedicated to working on three major areas:

• attracting minorities to and retaining them in the discipline and the Association,
• fostering an environment of social equality, inclusion and respect in the discipline for historically underrepresented minorities and
• defining and facilitating anthropology's role in public discourses about cultural diversity.

Objectives
Promote participation of underrepresented populations in anthropology by creating a climate where ideas from all individuals are equally considered, rather than viewed through a racialized frame. Foster professional advancement by minorities in anthropology. Promote intellectual awareness within the discipline and Association of issues that face minority anthropologists. Help define anthropology's role in national discourse on cultural diversity.

Responsibilities
To develop pragmatic and measurable indices for examining the discipline's progress toward meeting the above objectives

• To promote recruitment of minorities, especially from underrepresented populations
• To promote full participation of minorities in the discipline
• To sponsor and foster discussions about issues that face minority anthropologists that hinder recognition of their intellectual contributions to the discipline
• To develop opportunities to educate colleagues at all levels of the profession about issues which impact anthropologists from underrepresented populations, and about their contributions on core anthropological issues
• To sponsor and foster debates/presentations on cultural pluralism at Annual Meetings
• To promote greater understanding of cultural diversity within the discipline and with the general public
• To advocate involvement of anthropologists in cultural diversity issues

Membership and Appointments

• The CMIA consists of eleven voting members including the Chair, with seven members elected by the AAA membership and four appointed by the AAA President in order to achieve balance 
• Members serve for a period of three years
• The Committee selects a chair from amoung its members for a period of one year 
• The Chair is selected at the Annual Meeting for service during the next calendar year
• The President and President-elect of AAA serve ex-officio
• Members rotate in and out at the end of the AAA business meeting of any given year

Staff Liaison and contact information:
Emilia Guevara, American Anthropological Association, 2200 Wilson Blvd, Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22201, (o) 703/528-1902, (f) 703/528-3546

AAA is committed to addressing the entire spectrum of minority issues in anthropology.

Current projects include seeking funding for supporting minority scholarship in anthropology at all levels, developing linkages with minority anthropologists, and assisting in defining anthropology's role in the discourse on cultural diversity. An ongoing activity is the development of a comprehensive database of minority anthropologists, including information on members' expertise on file, which can be made available to departments recruiting faculty or to funding agencies seeking reviewers.

AAA seeks racial/ethnic demographic information about anthropology students, faculty and practitioners. This information is gathered through surveys of academic departments and information solicited from AAA members.