Public Presentations in Jackson County, NC
In 2024 and 2025, I gave public presentations about my ongoing archaeological excavations at the Cowee Tunnel Prison Labor Camp to local residents at the Jackson County Public Library and on Western Carolina University’s Campus. These talks were co-sponsored by the Mountain Heritage Center.
Public Archaeology at the Cowee Tunnel Prison Labor Camp
During excavations in 2024 and 2025 at the Cowee Tunnel Prison Labor Camp in Jackson County, NC, I welcomed volunteers and visitors from the local community to participate in our investigations. I have also maintained an Instagram account which shares our findings.
Southern Futures In Action: We Nourish Us Community Dinner and Fundraiser
As a member of the 2022-23 cohort of UNC Southern Futures Scholars, I co-organized a community dinner and fundraiser for The Cauldron, a food justice organization serving QTBIPOC communities. At this event, attendees heard from Chef Ade Carrena and Dr. Sharon Holland about the healing power of ancestral foods. May 3rd, 2023, Chapel Hill, NC.
StoryMap- Grounded in History, Growing into the Future
The Catawba Vale Collaborative (CVC) is a community organization in Old Fort, NC, focused on equitable, sustainable access to and development of the outdoor recreation industry. The CVC works to incorporate the diverse histories of the Old Fort area into forward-looking placemaking. I partnered with the CVC to collect oral histories and conduct collaborative mapping with members of Old Fort’s African American community. I published an ArcGIS StoryMap based on our work, and created interpretive panels which are displayed at the CVC community center and related locations in Old Fort.
Humanities for the Public Good Fellowship at the North Carolina Museum of History
In 2021-22, I was awarded the UNC Humanities for the Public Good Fellowship, which supported an internship with the North Carolina Museum of History. During that time, I helped organize and host the museum’s annual American Indian Heritage Celebration and the African American Cultural Celebration. I developed resource content for these events, organized the virtual logistics, held interviews with presenters, and moderated virtual sessions.
Mosaic NC Online Exhibit
In 2025, I published an online exhibit entitled “Incarcerated Labor on the Western North Carolina Railroad” on the NC Historical Publication Office’s online platform, Mosaic NC. This exhibit links readers to hundreds of primary documents from the State Archives of NC from the Governor’s Papers and the Prison Department records which I digitized, transcribed, coded, and entered into the Mosaic NC databased. This database is open to the public, and can be searched using date ranges, locations, or key terms.
Southern Futures In Action: Scalawag Lunch & Learn with Cierra Hinton
As a member of the 2022-23 cohort of UNC Southern Futures Scholars, I co-organized a “lunch and learn” event where Cierra Hinton, executive director of Scalawag Magazine, spoke about how scholars can collaboratively publish with their community research partners. April 18th, 2023, Chapel Hill, NC.
Southern Futures In Action: An Abolitionist Workshop with Durham Beyond Policing
As a member of the 2022-23 cohort of UNC Southern Futures Scholars, I co-organized a workshop where my colleague Andreina Malki and I spoke about how our research intersects with present-day abolition efforts and leaders of Durham Beyond Policing, a grassroots coalition aimed at divesting from policing and prisons, held a Q & A and workshop session. April 3rd, 2023, Chapel Hill, NC.
Sunken Secrets! Hands-On History Day at the North Carolina Museum of History
The capstone of my internship at the North Carolina Museum of History, supported by the Humanities for the Public Good program at UNC, was leading the development and organization of a Hands-On History Day event promoting the River Bridge: Sunken Secrets exhibit. I invited underwater archaeologists from the NC Office of State Archaeology to present about their work and created educational games and activities for families.
Content Expert and Curriculum Development for the Amplifying Native Voices in North Carolina History Project
The Amplifying Native Voices in North Carolina History Project is a collaboration between the Museum of the Southeastern American Indian at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, a historically Native American university, and the InHerit Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The project brings together scholars, museum specialists, and K-12 educators to create lesson plans and other educational materials. I worked with the project in 2020-21 as a content expert and held a presentation/ workship at their 2021 Teacher Institute for K-12 educators entitled “Planting Seeds of Knowledge: Native Gardening and Farming Through Time.”
Anthropology is Elemental
The Anthropology is Elemental program is a collaboration between the University of Alabama Department of Anthropology and Tuscaloosa County schools. As a participant in this program, I taught anthropology to local 3rd- through 5th-grade students and developed lesson plans grounded in critical pedagogy for a range of audiences.
Cayla B. Colclasure 