Congratulations to Carley Arrowood, the recipient of the 2021 Richard and Carol Mason Memorial Grant, awarded by the Wisconsin Archaeological Society to assist members enrolled in Wisconsin archaeological field schools. The grant is jointly funded by the children of Richard and Carol Mason and the Society, in memory of the Mason’s significant contributions to Wisconsin archaeology.
Carley is an undergraduate student in the Archaeology Program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She describes her experience in the following essay.
“This summer, I participated in the Gete Anishinaabeg Izhichigewin Community Archaeology Project, a six-week field school taking place in Red Cliff, Wisconsin. The project consisted of the archaeological excavation of two different sites, as well as various opportunities for community involvement and participation in cultural events.
The focus on community involvement lent a new perspective to the traditional practices of North American archaeology, where investigations are sometimes carried out by those who are disconnected from the modern-day indigenous populations. However, during this field school, special interest was taken in maintaining Anishinaabeg traditions and respecting the spirits that occupy the sites. On a daily basis, students would set out tobacco as an offering to past inhabitants. The Ojibwe language was also interspersed into our lessons, and our group attended the tribe’s annual Language Camp at Raspberry Bay.
In addition to participating in cultural activities, we worked for five days a week in the field. Starting at the Frog Bay Tribal National Park, we conducted a survey of an archaic site, mainly uncovering lithic debitage from flint knapping. Four of our six weeks were spent here, getting experience in some small unit excavations and shovel test pits. I was also excited to get some experience in historical archaeology, as we also surveyed the Old Pageant Grounds where an Indian Pageant took place in the 1920s. Altogether, the Gete Anishinaabeg Izhichigewin Community Archaeology Project provided me with a great look at contemporary archaeological practices through a cultural lens.”
