St. Pius X Mission Boarding School - An Archaeological Investigation

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Pius X Mission School, founded in 1918 in Skagway, Alaska, lies at the center of the archaeological investigation discussed in this presentation. Researchers at the University of Arizona, Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology aided in the assessment of cultural significance of the Pius X Mission Boarding School. Researchers collaborated directly with the Municipality of Skagway and the Skagway Tribal Council to conduct archaeological, ethnographical, and archival work to contribute to a more encompassing view of how St. Pius X Mission impacts the community of Skagway. This presentation will reflect on the importance of archaeological work, within the context of boarding schools, to highlight the lived experience of immersive assimilation and systemic violence. Students at St. Pius X Mission, and within the boarding school system, experienced a genocidal philosophy towards Native Americans. Recognizing boarding schools as systems, such as St. Pius X, have caused intergenerational trauma among native communities will contribute to more thorough archaeological investigations. This project

highlights a continued need for open collaboration between municipalities, universities, and Tribal councils to inform our understanding of the past and contribute to future management and development plans of these spaces.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40211.0