Recipients of the annual Indiana Archaeology Award and Indiana Historic Preservation Award, which recognizes outstanding efforts in the field of archaeology and historic preservation, have been announced by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology (DHPA).

As the State Historic Preservation Office, the DHPA oversees the federally funded Historic Preservation Fund grant program, the federal Reinvestment Historic Tax Credit program, and the state’s Historic Homeowner Tax Credit program. The DHPA also functions as Indiana’s central repository for historic structures and archaeological site records.

The awards will be presented by DHPA director Beth McCord and the rest of the division’s staff at local award ceremonies this fall.

The recipients include April Sievert, Ph.D., archaeologist and professor emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at Indiana University-Bloomington; the New Harmony Working Men’s Institute; and Ancora|RTM Ventures in Fort Wayne.

Sievert will receive the Indiana Archaeology Award in recognition of her dedication and service to Indiana archaeology and historic preservation through decades of teaching, research, stewardship, and caring partnerships with Indigenous peoples. As director of the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology (GBL) from 2013 to 2022, Sievert was instrumental in developing a new strategic plan for the center that prioritized people, past and present, and building collaborations with the many federally recognized Indigenous nations whose homelands are in what is now Indiana, including stewarding the National Historic Landmark site of Angel Mounds.

The New Harmony Working Men’s Institute will receive the Indiana Historic Preservation Award for outstanding grant-assisted rehabilitation project as a result of its advanced planning and preparations, commitment to maintaining the original appearance of this National Historic Landmark property, its fundraising efforts, and its grant administration throughout the project. The New Harmony Working Men’s Institute is an 1894 community building that originally had a slate roof but later replaced it with clay tiles in the 1950s. The clay tiles had reached the end of their useful life and roof leaks were developing. Through Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) funding and a major fundraising drive, the organization replaced the roof with slate to look like it did when constructed nearly 130 years ago.

Ancora|RTM Ventures will receive the Indiana Historic Preservation award for its outstanding rehabilitation tax credit project for its work on the West Campus of General Electric in Fort Wayne. Ancora|RTM Ventures’ Electric Works project included the rehabilitation of 10 historic buildings (c. 1907-1954) and the construction of one new building. General Electric began acquiring the land west of Broadway for the West Campus in 1906 and remained active on the site until 2014 when it closed the Broadway facility. The tax credit process for the project began in 2017 and was completed in April 2023. Including the new building, the Electric Works complex has more than 625,000 square feet of space that is a combination of office, educational, and retail uses. 

To view more DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.