My name is Samantha
Sprague, and like my fellow classmates that have posted before me, I am a WMU
student and a part of Anthropology in the Community for the Spring 2016
semester. I am a Biology Major and Anthropology Major at the moment, but plan
to change to being an Anthropology Major and Biology Minor. Our class has been tasked with creating panels
to expand the education and interest in the history of the archaeological site of
Fort St. Joseph. Topics including transportation, industry, native uses, modern
uses and the resources that are provided by the river. Knowledge on these
topics has been acquired through speaking with community members, going through
historical documents and maps, and through extensive research on our part.
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| Natives gathering rice |
My
partner, Anne, and I are working on the importance of the vast resources that
are provided by the St. Joseph River and their importance to both the Natives
that once lived in the area as well as to the settlers who came and stayed at
the fort. While there are many river resources we could bring up, we have
focused our study down to plants and animals that have left archaeological
evidence at the fort and surrounding area. These include plants such as wild
rice and cattails, to animals such as lake sturgeon, muskrat, beaver, clams and
aquatic birds. So far through our research Anne and I have found that these
resources were important as both a source of food but also in the fur trade
between the settlers and the Natives and was important in creating bonds
between these two groups. The river was and still is an important resource for
the people living around it. We are
still doing some research, but for the most part, our class is beginning to
wrap things up and prepare our panels for August!
-Samantha Sprague
