Action Anthropology and Sol Tax are both important chapters in the development of contemporary anthropology and applied social science. Although unknown or forgotten by most, both continue to be revered and applied by a group of intellectual descendants who will not let die either the man or the approach to helping commu-nities. In 2010 and 2011, former students, colleagues, the two Tax daughters--both academic professionals--and others came together to explore the relevance of Action Anthropology and Sol Tax to applied social science today. In reflecting on the history of the man and the intellectual tradition that he inspired, the authors document the many contributions made by Tax and his student-colleague cohorts. Using examples from contemporary applications, the contributors also demonstrate the present-day power of the ideas and approaches developed over the first 75 years. Time will tell whether Action Anthropology and Sol Tax in 2012: The Final Word? will close this important chapter in the development of applied social science research. Regardless, the tenets of Action Anthropology, detailed and explicated throughout this volume, will continue to provide a foundation for all applied scientists interested in social justice, indigenous decolonization, and improving the human condition.

Author Biography

Darby C. Stapp (PhD, Pennsylvania, 1991) is the owner of Northwest Anthropology LLC, a small cultural-assessment business in Richland, Washington, which he started in 2009 following retirement from Battelle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He has spent his professional career in the Pacific Northwest, where he has focused on American Indian ethnohistory and heritage management. Since 1991, he has worked with Plateau Tribes to address protection of sacred sites and traditional-use areas. He has published widely on tribal issues and coauthored two books: Tribal Cultural Resource Management: the Full Circle to Stewardship (2001), and Avoiding Archaeological Disasters: A Risk Management Approach (2009). He was program chair for the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting in Seattle in 2011 and has served as co-editor of the Journal of Northwest Anthropology since 2007.