Staff
Christian New
Executive Director
Christian is an Anthropologist from Houston, Texas. He received his undergraduate degree in Anthropology/Spanish from the University of Houston, as well as his master's in Cognitive Anthropology from the University of Houston. He likes to cook, be out in nature, play guitar, write, and spend time with his family and friends.
Danica Miller
Assistant Director
Danica is Hunkpati Dakota from Crow Creek. She is a mother to three rambunctious boys, and her passion outside of work and her family is helping those struggling with addiction, especially in the Native American community, as well as working with underprivileged youth and modeling for Native American designers.
Sabrina Strand
Tour Guide
Sabrina is a recent graduate from Mount Vernon High School. She will be attending Black Hills State University in the fall for Business Management and Music Composition. In her free time, Sabrina enjoys playing piano, reading, volunteering locally, and spending quality time with family.
Connor Bates
Archaeologist
Connor is an archaeology student attending Augustana University; for the Mitchell Site, he is cataloguing and documenting the multitude of artifacts found here for our master database. In his free time, he enjoys reading, primitive camping, drawing, and spending time with his family.
Jana Bell
Tour Guide
Jana is originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She received her BA in Business Management from the University of Maryland, and has lived all over the world. She moved to Mitchell with her husband Rick in 2021, and fell in love with the Mitchell Prehistoric Archaeological Site as soon as she visited. In her free time she enjoys family time, playing board games, and gardening.
Dr. Adrien Hannus
Archaeologist
Dr. Adrien Hannus is the former director of the Archaeology Department at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Adrien has been the Mitchell Site’s archaeologist since 1983. His research interests, in addition to the Mitchell Site, are the Paleo-Indian period in North America and Clovis culture.
Dr. Alan Outram
Archaeologist
Dr. Alan Outram is a professor of Archaeology at the University of Exeter in Exeter, England. He is a large mammal zooarchaeologist, and is also one of the world's leading experts in the history of the domestication of the horse.