UH Hilo anthropology students and faculty present their research at national conference in Oregon

Posted on April 14, 2025April 16, 2025 by Staff

Four anthropology students and their professors attended the annual Society for Applied Anthropology conference and presented their research projects.

Group photo of two faculty and three students. — Anthropology group, from left, UH Hilo student Deneva Broughton-Neiswanger, Prof. Lynn Morrison, Prof. Peter Mills, and students Sita Hale and Zach Hankin attend the 85th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in Portland, Oregon, March 25-29. Missing from photo is student Erin Dewing. (Photo: Dept of Anthropology/UH Hilo)

By Susan Enright.

Four anthropology students and two professors presented their research projects at the 85th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in Portland, Oregon, held March 25-29.

The annual meeting gives scholars, researchers, and students a venue to discuss their work and trade ideas. The theme of the 2025 conference was “Revitalizing Applied Anthropology.”

“We had four student presentations based on research they conducted during my fall sabbatical,” says UH Hilo Professor of Anthropology Lynn Morrison. “They all did brilliantly, fielding lots of questions during their presentations, and engaging with their peers and mentors. We arranged several mentor meet-ups to discuss grad school and continuing work.”

The students who presented their are Deneva Broughton-Neiswanger, Erin Dewing, Sita Hale, and Zachary Hankin (details and posters below).

Morrison also presented her work at the conference, “Animal Rescues in Natural Disasters: Safety and Stress During the Kilauea Eruption,” in which she examined animal rescuers’ experiences and challenges during the three-month eruption in 2018 and assessed blood pressure readings as a biomarker of stress related to animal rescue efforts. She says her presentation was very well received.

Lynn Morrison takes a selfie of herself and Peter Mills standing next to Morrison's poster presentation. — From left, UH Hilo professors of anthropology Lynn Morrison and Peter Mills stand next to Morrison’s poster at the conference. (Photo: Dept. of Anthropology/UH Hilo)

Professor of Anthropology Lynn Morrison's poster entitled "Animal Rescues in Natural Disasters: Safety and Stress During the Kilauea Eruption," with images of animal ressues, background info, methods, results and discussion information. — Professor of Anthropology Lynn Morrison’s poster on her research, “Animal Rescues in Natural Disasters: Safety and Stress During the Kilauea Eruption.” (Courtesy image, click to enlarge)

UH Hilo Professor of Anthropology Peter Mills, who co-authored one of the student’s projects, also attended the conference.

“It was a highly productive conference for all of us,” says Morrison. “We are all especially proud of how our students represented UH Hilo and our department specifically.”

Having attended with students annually several times, Morrison says, “We are becoming a known entity at this conference.”

UH Hilo anthropology students and faculty present their research at conference in Santa Fe (April 15, 2024, UH Hilo Stories)
UH Hilo anthropology students present their research in-person at nationwide conference held in Utah (April 21, 2022, UH Hilo Stories)

The students who presented their work are all anthropology majors.

Deneva Broughton-Neiswanger

Broughton-Neiswanger, a double major in anthropology and marine science, started her career with the U.S. Army Military Police. She has traveled throughout the world, landing on Hawaiʻi Island where she taught at Honokaʻa Elementary School before deciding to advance her education at UH Hilo.

Her project, “The Effects of Traumatic Birth on Maternal and Infant Bonding,” co-authored with Professor Morrison, focuses on traumatic births that account for between 25-33% of births in America. “Having a traumatic birth experience can cause the mother/birthing person to experience different forms of mental disturbances, which in turn impacts the developing bond between mother/birthing person and their infant,” she explains. “I interviewed seven women about their birth experiences and subsequent bonding.

Deneva stands next to her poster presentation while talking to two people who are viewing the poster. — Deneva Broughton-Neiswanger talks to two viewers of her presentation. (Photo: Dept of Anthropology/UH Hilo)

Poster presentation on The Effects of Traumatic Birth On Mother and Infant Bonding. The poster includes a mother and father shortly after birth, and about methods, results and discussion. — Deneva Broughton-Neiswanger’s poster on “The Effects of Traumatic Birth on Maternal and Infant Bonding.” (Courtesy image, click to enlarge)

Erin Dewing

Erin stands next to her poster presentation. — Erin Dewing with her poster presentation. (Photo: Dept of Anthropology/UH Hilo)

Originally from California, Dewing moved to Hawaiʻi four years ago and is a double major in anthropology (medical track) and administration of justice. She also is pursuing a minor in biology (cell, molecular, and biomedical track) and plans to attend graduate school in Scotland this fall.

Dewing presented her research titled, “Panaʻewa Ethnoprimatology and Behavior Study,” which was co-authored by fellow student Zach Hankin and Professor Morrison, where the group investigated the primate enclosures at Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens on Hawaiʻi Island.

“The zoo is a major attraction for tourists and locals, yet the zoo keeps its primates in inadequate enclosures,” says Dewing.

The study is based on participant observation and 12 semi-structured interviews with zoo patrons and employees over a period of four months.

“Our analysis suggests there is a disparity in how patrons perceive the well-being of primates in these archaic enclosures,” says Dewing. “Zoo patrons have been observed interacting with the monkeys by calling gently with others yelling at them. We propose recommendations to ameliorate the zoo conditions based on our data.”

Poster presentation titled "Panaʻewa Ethnoprimatology and Behavior Study," with images of the zoo enclosures and studies animals, info on background, methods, results, and discussion. — Erin Dewing’s poster presentation, “Panaʻewa Ethnoprimatology and Behavior Study.” (Courtesy image, click to enlarge)

Sita Hale

Hale is a 2022 graduate of Kealakehe High School in Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi Island, and is now an anthropology major at UH Hilo.

Her project presented at the conference, “Understanding the Footprints of the Elders: Archaeological Applications to Current Communities in Kona, Hawaiʻi,” co-authored by Professor Mills, focuses around the upland region of Kahaluʻu in Kona, Hawaiʻi Island, and its anthropological significance as agricultural and royal lands.

“Through conducting interviews of community members, synthesis of ethnographic data, and non-destructive geochemical analysis of cement foundation, I found evidence suggesting that a property in Kahaluʻu Mauka, currently used as coffee land, once had a house utilized as a political meeting place for King David Kalākaua,” she explains.

“I hope to continue my research on the area and interview more community members to record their stories of the region to better understand these micro-landscapes and their place within the broader region of Kahaluʻu.”

Poster presentation titled "Understanding the Footprints of the Elders: Archaeological Applications to Current Communities in Kona, Hawaiʻi," includes images of the area, methods and materials, results and a conclusion. — Sita Hale’s poster presentation, “Understanding the Footprints of the Elders: Archaeological Applications to Current Communities in Kona, Hawaiʻi.” (Courtesy image, click to enlarge)

Zachary Hankin

Hankin is an anthropology major focusing on biological anthropology. He is originally from California and moved to Hawaiʻi four years ago.

His poster, “Captive Primate Behavioral Analysis at the Panaʻewa Zoo,” co-authored by fellow student Dewing and Professor Morrison, is based on 96 hours of behavioral observations that Dewing conducted.

“I compared the time the five primates spent doing specific activities such as sitting, climbing, and grooming, and compared those to numbers from similar studies at other institutions,” says Hankin. “I found that the primates at Panaʻewa had increased rates of lethargic behavior [such as] sitting or laying down, pacing, and walking terrestrially […], while having reduced rates of more positive, species-specific behaviors like foraging and climbing.”