Amanda R. Sanchez

Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Education

Associate of Arts

Central Piedmont Community College · Expected Spring 2026

GPA: 4.0 · Honors Program · Transfer candidate, Fall 2026

Conference Presentations

Haunted Restitutions: Restless Ancestors and the Ghosts of Colonialism in Repatriation Policy

American Anthropological Association (AAA) Annual Meeting · November 2025 · New Orleans, LA

Art installation (Session 8688), Grand Ballroom Foyer. Listed as Organizer in the official AAA program.

Institutional Responsibility in Repatriation

National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) Annual Conference · November 2025 · San Diego, CA

60-minute oral research presentation on Indigenous repatriation and ethical institutional practices.

Returning Dignity: Reforming Repatriation Legislation for Tribal Empowerment

Southern Sociological Society (SSS) 88th Annual Conference · April 2025 · Charlotte, NC

Oral research presentation on Native American repatriation legislation reform.

Returning Dignity: Reforming Repatriation Legislation for Tribal Empowerment

National Association of Native American Studies (NAAAS) · February 2025 · Dallas, TX

45-minute paper presentation on repatriation rights and legislative reform.

Uncovering Lost Knowledge of Pre-Columbian Native American Cultures

North Carolina Honors Association (NCHA) Annual Conference · September 2024 · Cullowhee, NC

Oral research presentation on NAGPRA and institutional repatriation practices.

Awards & Honors

SAA Ethics Bowl Winner

Society for American Archaeology · March 2025

First community college team to compete and win.

Canopy Innovation Award

Central Piedmont Community College

ALPFA LIFT Program Fellow

Southeastern NAGPRA Community of Practice Member

Professional Memberships

  • American Anthropological Association (AAA) Jun 2025 – Present
  • Society for American Archaeology (SAA) 2024 – Present
  • Southern Sociological Society (SSS) Jan 2025 – Present
  • National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) 2025 – Present
  • North Carolina Honors Association (NCHA) 2024 – Present
  • Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) 2025 – Present
  • Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA) Student, 2025 – Present
  • Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) Member
  • National Association of African American Studies (NAAAS) 2024 – Present
  • Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society 2024 – Present

Research Interests

Indigenous archaeology & cultural resource management · NAGPRA reform & repatriation policy · Institutional ethics in archaeological practice · Colonial legacies in museum collections · Indigenous community engagement & sovereignty · Ethnobotany & traditional ecological knowledge