Returning to Fort St. Joseph

 Hello everyone!

I have yet to introduce myself, my name is Ella Doppke and I am a rising high school senior working with the students at the field school this season. 2021 marks my fourth year with Fort St Joseph. I was a FSJ Archaeology Summer Camper for three years before being lucky enough to be invited to continue my experience with the field students. 

Working in 2019, on a unit on the floodplain, that was reopened for students in order to find the other half of an object first uncovered during my first dig.

History and archaeology have always been passions of mine, starting with my interest in Native Americans in second grade. I knew I wanted to continue learning and working in the area in some form or the other. I took every history and language class I could in an effort to learn more. I hadn’t heard about the Fort St Joseph Archaeological Project until we found their camp and work when I was in eighth grade. I finished my first week and knew that I had to come back. You can read and watch documentaries about it all you want, but nothing really compares to getting into the dirt with your trowel and finding artifacts that haven’t been uncovered for hundreds of years.

I still remember finding my first seed bead in the wetscreen on my first day at the dig three years ago. Being able to pick it up and know it was made and traded in the 1700s was kind of unbelievable. That is where it all began. I love coming back each year and talking with the staff and volunteers about recent discoveries and updates about the site and being able to see our understanding of the time period develop with every season. 

I was excited to be able to join the students for the whole month this year. Meeting everyone and learning what brought them to the site and what their individual specialties are has been so much fun. It is sort of crazy to see units that you helped excavate in the top alluvium layers two years ago reach the occupation zone and produce dozens of artifacts. 

My current unit, North 4, East 35 in Trench 2.

I am so grateful for my time at the site so far and hope to continue to learn and return to work with the project. Going into my senior year of high school, I have just started college applications and *fingers crossed* plan to pursue an anthropology degree with a focus on linguistics and museum studies. 

See you soon! Ella.