Does Heritage Work as a Tool for Community Well-being? Michael Roberts RPA, Certified Trainer of the Happiness initiative, Chair Sustainability

Commission Groton MA.

Presented at the 2014 conference on Heritage and Healthy Societies, Under the auspices of the UMASS Amherst

Center for Heritage and Society and The University of Kent Centre for Heritage.

Sidney Hyman. “Empire for Liberty”

In With Heritage So Rich (1966)

Does Heritage Work as a Tool for Community Well-being? Well, the Commonwealth of

Massachusetts believes it does, since Historic Preservation is one of the three main pillars of the

Community Preservation Act. Necessary to preserve the essence of our communities as we step

into the 21st Century. In 1966 The Congress found and declared that-

(1) the spirit and direction of the Nation are founded upon and reflected in its historic heritage;

(2) the historical and cultural foundations of the Nation should be preserved as a living part of

our community life and development in order to give a sense of orientation to the American

people. And I have seen it demonstrated over most of the 40 years I have been a Heritage

Management Professional.

So, just what are we talking about? Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and

intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in

the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. Cultural heritage

includes tangible culture (such as buildings, monuments, landscapes, archaeological sites,

books, maps, works of art, and artifacts), intangible culture or living heritage which is the

mainspring of humanity's cultural diversity and its maintenance a guarantee for continuing

creativity. Which includes folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge and then natural

heritage (including culturally significant landscapes, and biodiversity). Cultural and natural

heritage is unique and irreplaceable, which places the responsibility of preservation on the

current generation in order for it to be useful to today’s communities seeking well-being. Of

these three categories of cultural heritage the least understood and most overlooked is intangible

cultural heritage which attempts to preserve cultural heritage 'with' the people or community by

protecting the processes that allow traditions and shared knowledge to be passed on. In my mind

THIS is the category which contributes the most to a communities’ well-being.

Well-being is the current iteration of a number of terms the first of which was introduced by the

King of Bhutan who called it “happiness”. He obtained the concept from Thomas Jefferson

when he wrote about one of the unalienable rights of man as “the pursuit of happiness” in the

Declaration of Independence which has been translated most recently as “satisfaction with life”.

The new discipline of Positive Psychology has led the charge in using the phrase well-being but

the internet, Facebook and Twitter are alive with heated and not so heated debate on the subject.

I believe this is a waste of time so long as we can all agree that “satisfaction with life” is the

goal. The Happiness Alliance formerly the Happiness Initiative organization (happycounts.org)

a number of years ago established a survey (much like the one the King of Bhutan did in

consultation with universities and professionals developed to replace the notion of Gross

Domestic Product with Gross Domestic Happiness) and they have amassed a sample size of

close to 30,000.

Figure 1- www.happycounts.org - Take the survey

To measure overall satisfaction with life, the survey addresses the 10 domains of happiness and

is useful for individuals, communities, organizations and governments. These 10 domains are:

1. Mental Well-Being, 2. Material Well-Being, 3. Work, 4. Time Balance, 5. Community, 6.

Social Support, 7. Health, 8. Governance, 9. Environment, 10. Education, Arts & Culture

I didn’t see the word “heritage” once in there except maybe implied by the domain of

environment or education arts & culture. With a little thought I think we can translate some of

these domains as having a relationship with heritage. I am not suggesting we add another

domain (or maybe I am) but for me the notion of Cultural Heritage equates with IDENTITY and

I KNOW that identifying, protecting, interpreting and celebrating a communities cultural

heritage leads to a more satisfied life as well as the inspiration to “do better” and pride or

Figure 3- U.S. Steel 1880

sometimes shame of the accomplishments of our ancestors. We own them they are part of us.

Even a community newcomer can identify with past newcomers and their accomplishments. I

would be ecstatic if the City of Denver apologized for the Sand Creek Massacre. I believe it

would foster a stronger sense of community if it happened.

How do I KNOW that heritage contributes to a communities’ and an individuals’ “satisfaction

with life”? If we can agree that taking pride in your living space, participating in community

activities, using you talents to add to the quality of life of yourself, your neighbors and your

community, then I believe that these things become a metric by which we can gauge satisfaction

with life. Some examples of work that I have done in over 40 years in Heritage Management

may illustrate this idea.

I&M Canal Corridor

Joliet

One of the best examples comes from Illinois. I was

commissioned to do one of the early feasibility studies for

what was to become the Illinois & Michigan Canal

Heritage Corridor – the first Heritage Corridor in the

nation. The community of Joliet was one of the

communities within the proposed corridor boundaries.

When I first saw Joliet homes needed painting, fences

mending, grass cutting – a general “run down” appearance

(BUT they had just restored the magnificent theater

downtown and were worried how they were going to fill it.). As a part of my involvement with

this project I was asked to facilitate the

Historic Preservation sessions at a two day

conference discussing the adaptive reuse of

the unused U.S. Steel plant in the heart of

Joliet. Tangible resources included the ruins

of two Bessemer furnaces numerous historic

structures and infrastructure for the

manufacture of barbed wire (read how the

west was won) as well as other products

including gas driven off by the Coking

process which lit the gas lights of Chicago

(and left behind Sulfuric Acid).

Figure 2- I&M Canal Gatekeepers House.

Intangible resources include family stories of work at USSteel and life along the I&M Canal. As

the conference ended a community historic preservation group was planned and there was lots of

enthusiasm to “move forward” and “do something” and the general recognition that the people of

Joliet really did have a heritage and many important things had happened there and they were a

part of that history with the opportunity to keep it alive. The proceedings of the conference were

published and distributed to libraries, City departments and others.

When I returned a year later houses were painted, fences mended, lawns mowed, banners

downtown celebrating the I&M canal and people I had met still enthused about the many

possibilities and great future and quality of life was to be had in Joliet.

Figure 4- Celebrating Joliet

Other communities along the corridor including Bridgeport, Lockport and others have accepted

the mantel of full blown National Heritage Corridor communities which have benefited

economically with a future of a great quality of life. Community well-being is on the rise here

and cultural heritage has played an important part.

Micronesia

Figure 5- Micronesia

During the Reagan years under his jobs act I was commissioned to plan and manage to

completion, seven historic preservation projects in Micronesia in what had been the US Trust

Territories of the Pacific. The projects were: 1. the rehabilitation of a traditional men’s house in

the Republic of Balau, 2. Complete the construction of a meeting house and conduct an

archaeological survey of the site in the traditional village of Bechyal in Yap State, Federated

States of Micronesia, 3. Repair, Rehabilitation and archaeology at the World Heritage prehistoric

site of Nan Madol in Pohnpei State, Federated states of Micronesia, 4. Rehabilitation of the ruins

of the historic site of Lelu in Kosrae State, Federated States Of Micronesia, 5. Several

rehabilitation projects in Truk State, Federated States of Micronesia. 6. The rehabilitation of the

deBruhn plantation house in the Republic of the Marshall Islands 7. Restoration of the Puluwat

Light House.

Bai of Arai

All of these projects had both tangible and intangible components and resulted in increasing the

well-being of their communities, but the project in Balau is the most appropriate one for the

purposes of this presentation. Laying just 528 miles southeast of the Philippines, the Republic of

Balau is a collection of islands including Belileau Island the location of an important battle of the

Second World War. Koror (the capital) and Babaldob (the location of Arai State) are the two

largest of the archipelago. Arai State was the location of the Bai of Arai the last traditional

men’s house in the Republic.

Figure 6- The Bai of Airi

The Bai was in desperate need of repair and if lost would constitute great harm to the

communities and culture of the Republic. In Balau all the land is owned by the women and

everything relating to the sea belongs to the men EXCEPT the Bai where they conduct business

and do other things that men do in their own space. The Bai is also the library of the history of

Arai with the stories passed down from village historian to village historian. The paintings

throughout the Bai act as mnemonics or reminders to the historians, community, visitors and

enemies of the history, power and importance of Arai community and its people. Thus the Bai

has both tangible and intangible cultural resources. Without this men’s house the heart goes out

of the community.

Figure 7-"Enemies don't try anything we are pretty tough guys"

Figure 8- The Tangible Intangible

To repair the Bai we went to the Council on Aging and located elders who still held the

knowledge relating to thatching, painting, what woods to use for the flooring, the sides and

beams for the roof. Using unemployed young men these elders took them into the forest to find

and acquire the materials necessary to rehabilitate/restore the Bai according to the Secretary of

the Interiors Standards. While the rehab was in progress we went to the other States of Belau

and told them that there were young men who could build Bai’s for their villages. Thus

marketing the skills and experience to the rest of the Republic and helping to restore the hearts of

their communities. Upon completion of the work in Airi we had a graduation ceremony

complete with speakers, the local school chorus and a diploma for each of the young men from

the Government of Balau. In this case the restoration of a key element of the communities’

cultural heritage contributed greatly to the well-being of not only this community but many other

communities as well as the Republic itself.

Figure 9- Graduation Day Figure 10- Diplomas Given

Figure 11- Graduation Party

Bechyal Yap

The people on the islands of Yap (the

island of stone money) were working to

recreate a traditional village for the

education of their children and as a

tourist attraction. They had built a

traditional seagoing outrigger, a

traditional boat house, a men’s house and cleaned the foundation of a prehistoric meeting house

in preparation to reconstruct a new

meeting house. The project then ran

out of money and the government out

of commitment. Along came Reagan’s

Jobs Act.

When I got on site to design and plan

the rebuilding project I met with the

last traditional architect on Yap and the

Yap Historic Preservation Officer.

In order to plan the project to be

acceptable to the National Park Service

we needed to have a qualified “architect of record”. When the project was completed with

considerable help from Japanese archaeologist Michiko Intoh I prepared the final report. On the

cover a picture of John Tamag the architect complete in his loin cloth and container of Betelnut

standing beside a huge piece of stone money.

Figure 14- The Meeting House

Figure 12- The Island of Stone Money

Figure 13- Our Conference Table

Today the people are using the reconstructed

traditional village including the meeting

house to teach traditional dancing, Yapese

history, traditional construction techniques

(including the songs necessary to tie the

joints of buildings in elaborate knots of

coconut fiber rope) and sailing a traditional

outrigger. All the tangible and intangible

things that return a community to its cultural

roots and thus greatly enhance its sustainable community well-being.

Figure 16- Joints are tied with complex Knots, no Nails, no Pegs, Just Knots

Figure 15- Frigate Birds are the Totem of this Village

South Street

As we were in the course of

excavating an 18th century

ship from lower Manhattan,

Mayor Ed Koch invited the

city to come down and see

HIS SHIP. We hastily built

a rather precarious plywood

walkway above the ship and

crossed our fingers that it

would hold for the day (also

hoping OSHA wouldn’t

show up). That morning people were lined up for blocks all excited about THEIR SHIP. As I

walked the line talking to people I asked a construction worker who had taken off work why he

was here. “I’m from Jersey it’s my heritage!!”

Figure 18- Don't Break!

Did this project contribute to community well-being? I think so, It certainly made Mayor Koch

feel good. It made a number of the citizens of NY NJ feel good and added to their IDENTY the

Figure 17- Third Shift

Figure 19- The Bow - The Most Scientifically Interesting Part of the Ship

history of a small piece of lower Manhattan. For my money I believe this early spring morning

near South Street Sea Port contributed to the well-being of a community. Whether it was

sustained or not is doubtful since there was no mention of it after the project was over and what

remains of the ship is now in New Port News VA as no one in New York wanted it not even the

Mayor.

There are many other examples some of which worked, some that didn’t and a few that were

bitterly disappointing.

But times arrow flies.

For close to five decades a profession has evolved that provides services to clients to help them

meet the heritage preservation component of State and Federal law. I have been a part of that

profession for almost that long. The work products consist of technical reports, site discovery

documentation and occasionally something for the public. As chair of the first Public Education

Committee of the Society for American Archaeology I heard endless lamentations about how the

public didn’t care about what we were doing and how the profession was not fulfilling its public

education mandate. The Society cared so much about it that they gave us $50 for postage for the

year. The situation is improving somewhat but not to the point where it has a significant

influence on community well-being. Indeed most sustainability and well-being practitioners

have never heard of Heritage and thus it has been left out of surveys, plans and projects designed

to enhance community well-being. I know, many of you here today will point to projects that

include heritage as a tool for well-being but I submit they are the exception rather than the rule.

We call ourselves Heritage Resource Managers but we know that little that we do in the way of

management has enhanced or helped to create sustainable community well-being. Of all the

tools in our kit the one least used is INTERPRETATION. Despite the fact that the National Park

Service has identified interpretation as an important management tool as well as an enhancement

of the visitor experience. I believe that the interpretation of a communities’ cultural heritage to

the citizens of that community is a keystone to sustainable community well-being. It helps to

establish the communities IDENTITY for its citizens, its neighbors, visitors and the world. It is

This is the foundation upon which

ALL of the other domains of Happiness/well-being can safely rest. It anchors the community

and its citizens to an IDENTITY, to a homeland, to a community of shared experience and

shared responsibility. It is that rootedness that provides the stable platform for confidently

reaching for the future.

To illustrate the importance of IDENTITY I found this caption to a recent photograph:

The destruction of Syria’s cultural heritage must stop. It gravely affects the identity and history

of the Syrian people and all humanity, damaging the foundations of society for many years to

come.

For too long we Heritage Managers have been content to submit our reports, document new sites,

occasionally help communities or community groups in understanding their heritage and then go

on to the next project. I submit, from years of experience, that this does not establish

SUSTAINABLE community well-being. I do believe however that the interpretation of a

communities heritage with a multitude of demonstratively proven techniques can and does help

the community, its children and its children’s children to rediscover its identity every time they

encounter them. And this at least supports a more sustainable community well-being.

Interpretation has had many definitions over the years. The one I find most useful comes from

Interpretation Canada: "Interpretation is a communication process, designed to reveal meanings

and relationships of our cultural and natural heritage, through involvement (my emphasis) with

objects, artifacts, landscapes and sites." Involvement is the key word here. Involvement of the

entire community at all levels and to all ages of the citizens. Involvement in the teaching and

learning of the hidden tangible and intangible histories of their communities as revealed by

heritage practitioners, scholars, knowledgeable citizens, officials, citizens of all ethnicities and

just plain folks. This means that everyone has access to and knowledge of those hidden histories

so they can be celebrated, passed on to younger generations, discussed around dinner tables and

become a critical part of a community’s well-being. The mechanics of doing this will take more

time than this presentation will allow. But I have had the privilege to work on enough projects

so that I know it can be done and how it can be done.

Does Heritage Work as a Tool for Community Well-being? I hope that I have demonstrated that

it does. But the more important question should be - CAN Heritage Work as a Tool for

SUSTAINABLE Community Well-being? I believe the answer is yes but only if the

community is fully knowledgeable and INVOLVED in all aspects with the objects, artifacts,

landscapes, sites, stories, traditions, songs and dances, foods and the many other aspects of a

community’s cultural heritage. Carefully integrated with the 10 domains of happiness.

Sustainable Community Well-being can be achieved, all it takes is becoming resilient and strong

through compassion, connection and commitment.