Episode 15 - Cemetery Task Force - Natural Disasters, Restoration & Body Recovery
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Jennie and Dianne are joined by Ryan Seidemann and Christine Halling of the Louisiana Cemetery Task Force to discuss what happens to cemeteries and their permanent residents when natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes strike. They share their experience and expertise on planning strategies once they know a storm is about to hit and how they handle recovery and restoration in the aftermath.
Ryan M. Seidemann, J.D., Ph.D, RPA
Lawyer, Archeologist, Anthropologist, Professor
Ryan M. Seidemann earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Florida State University, focusing on human remains analysis with research at the Smithsonian Institution and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He completed a Master’s degree in Anthropology at Louisiana State University with a thesis on Maya skeletal remains from Belize. His early work in cultural resource management ranged across the Southeastern United States, with surveys and site excavations on Archaic peoples to inhabitants of New Orleans in the nineteenth century. Ryan later earned both a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Juris Doctorate at LSU and, in 2021, a Ph.D. in Urban Studies/Urban Anthropology from the University of New Orleans, with a dissertation on cemetery preservation inequities in New Orleans.
Throughout his law practice in both Louisiana and Vermont, Ryan has continuously show cased his ability to balance the intersecting worlds of cultural resources management, archaeology, cemeteries, and law. Ryan previously served as an Assistant Attorney General (2005-2024) and Chief of the Lands & Natural Resources Section (2007-2024) of the Louisiana Department of Justice. In that position, he represented the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, the Office of State Lands, Louisiana Cemetery Board, and the Louisiana Division of Archaeology, among other government agencies. He has argued cases in most Louisiana district courts, all Louisiana appellate courts, and multiple times before the Louisiana Supreme Court. Ryan has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications on hu… Read More
Christine Halling
Archaeologist
Christine L. Halling holds a B.S. (Minnesota State University, Mankato) in Anthropology and a
M.S. (University of Indianapolis) in Human Biology. She is currently employed as the
Anthropologist of the Lands & Natural Resources Section, Civil Division, Louisiana Department
of Justice. She is a Registered Professional Archaeologist and has trained in Forensic
Anthropology, Bioarchaeology, and Human Biology. Prior to her current employment, she
taught Anatomy & Physiology coursework and was the Lab Director for the Kampsville Human
Osteology and Bioarchaeology Field School.