Lance M. Foster

I'm an old guy now (weirds me out sometimes) who was born in California and raised in Helena, Montana. I'm into nature, I am an artist and I'm also an observer of life. I belong to the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and live here in Kansas now.

After graduating from high school in Helena, I went to the Institute of American Indian Arts, Carroll College, and the University of Montana, where I graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology and Native American Studies. Afterwards, I worked as an archaeologist in the 1980s-1990s for various firms and then the U.S. Forest Service. I earned an M.A. in Anthropology and an M.L.A. in Landscape Architecture from Iowa State University. I worked for the National Park Service as a historical landscape architect in Santa Fe and Anchorage, and then as director of native rights, land and culture for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). I got married to a fine intelligent woman. No kids.

In late 2006, I moved back home to Montana, hoping to find a job, and then came the 2008 crash. I have not been able to find a fulltime job since then, and at my age and having chosen an unpopular path in life, I don't expect I ever will. But as a reader of James Howard Kunstler, John Michael Greer, and Dmitry Orlov, I am not surprised. Joe Bageant is another favorite author.

For seven years (2006-2013) I worked part time as adjunct faculty at a community college in Helena, teaching art, archaeology, and nature and society. I hoped maybe someday that would turn into a regular job. I eventually learned adjunct teaching is a permanent thing now though, with over 60% of all college jobs taught by temporary adjuncts kept limping along from term to term, forever.

Then that fell through in 2013 with shrinking enrollment. At the end of my rope, I moved from Montana to my tribe's reservation in Kansas. I make a subsistence living now as the part time Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO), helping to preserve and care for what remains of our language, land and culture.

I remain underemployed, poor, and thoughtful about the mess we all find ourselves in. I just get by, day by day, living in the moment...because after all, that's really all we have, this moment in time. The past is gone and the future is uncertain. But there aren't guarantees in life and

I'm pretty much a cheerful guy anyways :-)