Experiencing Fort Recovery, Ohio: Balancing Descendent Views in Historic Site Interpretation

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Reflections, Practice, and Ethics in Historical Archaeology" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Battle of the Wabash (1791) and the Battle of Fort Recovery (1794) in modern day Fort Recovery, Ohio are illustrative of early settler and American Indian conflicts in the expansion of the newly formed American nation. Consequently, the resulting modern battlefield landscape presents an opportunity for public interpretation with feedback from descendent populations, and a presentation of historic writing and oral histories alongside extensive archaeological excavation. The Fort Recovery Walking Battlefield Tour signage and resources were developed to engage a wide audience in the nuanced stories of the two battles. As written resources from the perspective of the white settlers are abundant, it was important to equally address oral American Indian histories and modern descriptive vocabulary to ensure an objective and balanced approach to the interpretation. This paper will address the purposeful use of diverse viewpoints and histories in design for an interpreting complex battlefield histories.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2019   •
• Reflections, Practice, and Ethics in Historical Archaeology

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 388