Reservation Archaeology in an NPS Setting: Native-White Relations and Land Use on the Grand Portage Reservation, 1854-1930

Summary

Grand Portage National Monument (GRPO) is located within the Grand Portage Reservation in Northern Minnesota and is primarily concerned with interpreting the events and impacts of the fur trade in the eighteenth century. In an effort to increase Grand Portage Ojibwe representation and in compliance of Section 110, GRPO conducted archaeological excavations in the summer of 2016 of the historic yard of a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) building to explore land use and plant use throughout time and to better identify the occupation of the building. The Grand Portage BIA Complex excavation is one if the first efforts in Grand Portage to learn more about the history of the Reservation and history of BIA occupation on a local and regional scale. Preliminary results of the study discuss the artifact assemblage from the yard and house waste found in the four excavated units, the soils in and around the site, phytolith analysis taken from soil samples in the units and outside the site, and historic documentation from BIA employees. Additional consideration is given to the differences in soils and artifact assemblages from the Grand Portage BIA Complex site and 21CK12, located within the vicinity, that highlight differences in socioeconomic lifestyles.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15332