Looking Back on Orientation

            On June 29th and June 30th, I started orientation for Western Michigan University’s Archaeological Field School. The field school is to take place in Niles, Michigan at Fort St. Joseph, but our orientation took place on Western’s main campus. I was joined by nine other students, our lab coordinator, and the instructor. 

            Our first day started off with introductions between ourselves, and then an introduction to the program. We each had been provided binders that included our class syllabus. We went through the syllabus that’s first section was the background of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Program. The syllabus also included our schedule which showed the days we’d be in Niles, and what we’d be doing. I was glad to go over the syllabus, as I had been nervous about the program. I haven’t done a field school before so I had no clue what to expect. Reading through the syllabus in class was helpful to ease my anxiety. 

            On the second day, we started out by learning the field procedures. Our field procedures include record keeping (catalog numbers), starting excavation units, bag tags, etc. By having these procedures we are ensuring that we can get our work done in a way that everyone understands. Something else we covered was the “excavation unit level sheet” which is used to mark where artifacts are found in our excavation units. After learning about the procedures in the classroom we headed outside to practice these sheets, as well as practicing measuring out a unit. I really enjoyed being outside and doing this, because it was hands-on and I learn better by doing things hands-on. 

            Later in the day, we watched videos that taught us about the history of Fort St. Joseph and the area surrounding it. The fort was established in the late 1600s by the French and the residents fur traded with the Neshnabe. After watching the videos, we went over slides that taught us more about the fort, and about WMU’s involvement. Some of the slides included maps that showed where the 2022 field school’s students had excavated. This led to our last activity, where I conversed with other students about where we thought we should excavate this year.

            The rest of the day included us watching videos on Fort St Joseph and its involvement with the community. We watched videos about the yearly summer camp that is open to elementary through high school kids, as well as the open house we are to help put on later this summer. I think it’s really awesome that the fort, WMU, and the community of Niles are willing to come together to preserve this history. As much as I am nervous about the field school, I am much more excited to see what’s to come. I am excited that I was given the opportunity to join this program and be involved with the community.

Korrin Lovett