Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Abstract

This document summarizes the outcomes of an effort to identify the diverse human populations associated with Fort Vancouver. Through a review of ethnographic, historical, and ethnohistorical information found in various research libraries and archives, this research has sought to illuminate the many reasons that Native Americans converged at the fort and to reconstruct the paths taken by these people after their departure. In the process, we are able to identify those modern communities that are significantly linked to the history of Fort Vancouver – in turn, this will allow the NPS to better engage these contemporary groups in the protection and public interpretation of the park. The study represents what is sometimes termed a “traditional association study,” within the National Park Service, a study that seeks to identify contemporary populations that possess historical ties to a NPS unit, using historical and ethnohistorical methods. Such studies represent a necessary first step for making determinations of cultural affiliation under the terms of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in the event of future inadvertent discoveries on federal lands managed by the NPS. Beyond its NAGPRA implications, however, the study will assist the NPS in interpretation of the site to the public, tribal coordination for Section 106 of the NHPA, and in the maintenance of government-to-government relations with American Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. The report should also have some value in developing interpretation on the park’s history: a major goal in the park’s General Management Plan is to interpret “Kanak Village” to the public, and this study will provide a better means to interpret the multicultural nature of the Village. Taking a principally ethnohistorical approach, this study will also provide a baseline for future anthropological, sociological or other cultural studies related to its core themes. The current project was initiated to achieve these various goals by FOVA staff –principally Drs. Douglas Wilson and Robert Cromwell – working in collaboration with the Pacific-West Regional Anthropologist, Dr. Frederick York. The project was funded with NPS Ethnography Program support and this funding was obligated to the University of Washington Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (PNW-CESU) under cooperative agreement # CA9088A0008. Dr. Douglas Deur, of the PNW-CESU, was the lead researcher for this research, and was responsible for carrying out the investigations summarized in this document in collaboration with NPS staff.

Description

*At the time of publication Douglas Deur was affiliated with the University of Washington

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42427

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