Fieldwork Begins July 9th!

Hi and welcome to the 2012 field season at Fort St. Joseph!

The 2012 field season is about to start at the Fort St. Joseph and Lyne sites. Fourteen graduate and undergraduate students will join Dr. Michael Nassaney and five other staff members in archaeological excavations this summer. The students and staff spent several days at Western Michigan University over the last two weeks familiarizing themselves with the history of the fort, learning about archaeological excavation techniques, and participating in field exercises to prepare themselves. The Fort St. Joseph archaeologists will be moving to Niles on July 9^th and are eager and excited to start field work later that day!

Let me tell you a little about myself and my involvement with the Fort St. Joseph Project. I started pursuing my MA. degree specializing in archaeology at Western Michigan University during the fall 2010. I quickly got involved with lab work on the Fort project and served as the graduate teaching assistant last summer. My research interests began with Native American history and colonial interactions and have since moved towards public archaeology and children’s education. Luckily the Fort project allows me to do both! I’m looking forward to starting this season in my new job as public outreach coordinator and, of course, learning with the students about new discoveries in the field how that helps us know about the history of the fort.

We have a lot of exciting events planned for this summer – make sure you don’t miss out on them:

The Public Lecture Series begins on Wednesday July 11^th with Dr. Doug Scott whose program is titled “Shot and Shell Tell the Tale: Some New Interpretations from Military and Battlefield Archaeology”. He will speak at the Niles District Library at 7pm. Following the presentation the archaeology students will get their first chance to mingle with the audience and talk about their first experiences in the field. The lecture series will continue with Larry Horrigan on July 25^th also at the library, Robert Myers on August 1^st at the Niles Senior Center, and Joseph Gagné at the Northern Indiana Center for History on August 8^th. All presentations begin at 7pm. Visit our Facebook and "like" us for updates as well!

Fort St. Joseph archaeologists will once again be at the French Market in downtown Niles on Thursdays throughout the summer. Come check us out, we’d love to talk to you.

Of course our annual Open House promises to be an exciting event again this year. It will take place on August 11^th-12^th at the intersection of Fort and Bond Streets. 

Site tours can be arranged by contacting me at ericaadelia@gmail.com. 

I hope to see you around!

Erica