Fort Ross: Collaborative Fort Ross: Collaborative Archaeology and the native Archaeology and the native

American voiceAmerican voice

Section 110Section 110

• The Russian-American Company set up a mercantile company in present day Sonoma County (Indians, Missionaries and Merchants 2)

• In 1799, Tsar Paul granted the Russian-American Company a broad charter authorizing its monopoly over North America (Fort Ross Interpretive Association)

Establishment of a Contact Zone:

• The Russians assembled a multiethnic workforce: (Indians, Missionaries and Merchants 2)

1. Kashaya Pomo

2. Coast Miwok

3. Aleuts (Alaskan Natives)

The primary reasons that mercantile companies interacted with the natives: (Indians, Missionaries and Merchants 7)

1. Exploit them as cheap labor

2. Not to transform their culture

In 1841, Russians abandoned the site because:

1. Fur trade had not been lucrative in many years2. Cold weather and pests yielded low yields of crops3. English and Spanish challenged claims to the land

(Fort Ross Interpretive Association) 

• Many of the structures at Fort Ross were destroyed over time (Fort Ross State Historic Park) • Today, the Rotchev House is the only remaining original structure and has also achieved National Landmark status (Fort Ross State Historic Park) 

The Kashaya PomoThe Kashaya Pomo

• The Kashaya were the first known people to have settled in the region (The First People, Fort Ross) • Roughly 1,500 Kashaya Pomo occupied the region before Russian colonization (The First People, Fort Ross)

Kashaya men’s dance headdress

Abalone shell necklace

Kashaya women’s headdress

The Kashaya Pomo were skilled artisans especially in the craft of basket-weaving

(The First People, Fort Ross)

Diet: Abalone and mussel shellfish, fish, sea mammals

(The First People, Fort Ross).

The Kashaya Pomo usual diets also comprised of nuts, berries, acorn, seeds, and deer (The First People, Fort Ross)

• There are few documents describing the interactions between the local indigenous people, the Russians, and the Aleuts

Muted Voices of the Past

• However, most of the history comes from first-hand Russian accounts and oral tradition of the Kashaya Pomo (“Native Responses to the Russian Mercantile Company at Fort Ross”)

•The Kashaya Pomo did not have a written language when the Russians arrived

Collaborative Archaeology Now:

• It incorporates people from different backgrounds and perspectives aiming to benefit both archaeologists and indigenous people and other stakeholders (“Archaeology and Indians: Thawing an Icy Relationship” 39)

• Collaborative archaeology involves not only just asking about their pasts, but also making them a part of the research process. (“Archaeology of the Seventh Generation”)

• Archaeologists must ask how their research benefits the community and the local people.

Collaborative Archaeology at Fort Ross:

At Fort Ross, Professor Lightfoot and his students, the Kashaya Pomo natives including Otis Parrish, state park rangers and archaeologists collaborated in the research objectives and process. (Collaboration: The Future of the Study of the Past” 28)

• Compromise is important in order to respect the views of the native tribes and other stakeholders involved. At Fort Ross, the Kashaya Pomo had various taboos and beliefs that all must follow: (“Archaeology of the Seventh Generation”) 

• site must be treated as a living organism

• cultural rules will be followed

• no alcohol

• women on their menstrual cycle (Khela) are not allowed to work

• project will be low impact

• Native peoples are integral components to many excavations.

• Archaeologists are becoming increasingly more involved with local stakeholders and public outreach programs.

•This helps maintain the once silent Native American voice.

Allan, J. M. Forge and Falseworks: An Archaeological Investigation of the Russian American Company's Industrial Complex at Colony Ross. Berkeley: University of California. (2001).  

Dowdall, Katherine M. “A Meaningful Disturbance of the Earth.” Journal of Social       Archaeology. 3.1 (2002): 99-102.  

Farris, G. The Age of Russian Imperialism in the North Pacific. The Archaeology  of  Russian Colonialism in the North and Tropical Pacific, edited by P. R. Mills and A.  Martinez. Berkeley: Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers. (1997): 187-194.  

Farris, G. Historical Archaeology of the Native Alaskan Village Site. The Native  Alaskan Neighborhood: A Multiethnic Community at Colony Ross, edited by K. G. Lightfoot, A. M. Schiff and T. A. Wake, 2.2. Archaeological Research Facility, Berkeley. (1997): 129-135.  

Farris, G. The Russian Imprint on the Colonization of California. Columbian Consequences: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives on the Spanish Borderlands West, edited by D. H. Thomas. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. 1.3 (1989): 481-497 

Fort Ross Interpretive Association.  <http://www.fortrossinterpretive.org/> 

Fort Ross State Historic Park.  < http://www.mcn.org/1/rrparks/fortross/> 

Gibson, J. R. Russians in California, 1833: Report of Governor Wrangel. Pacific Northwest       Quarterly 60.4. (1968): 205-215. 

Gonzalez, Sara L., Lee M. Panich, Darren Modzelewski, Tsim D. Schneider. “Archaeology for       the Seventh Generation.” The American Indian Quarterly. 30.3-4 (2006): 388-415. 

Jewett Roberta A., Kent G. Lightfoot, E. Breck Parkman, Otis Parrish, Daniel F. Murley. “The Metini Village Project: Collaborative Research in the Fort Ross State Historic Park.” Society for California Archaeology Newsletter. 35.2 (2001): 23-26.  

Lightfoot, Kent G. “Archaeology and Indians: Thawing an Icy Relationship.” News from Native California. 19.1 (2005): 37-39.  

Lightfoot, Kent G. “Collaboration: The Future of the Study of the Past.” News from Native California. 19.2 (2005): 28-31. 

Lightfoot, Kent G. Fort Ross News. The Archaeological Research Facility Newsletter, 1.1 (1993)  

Lightfoot, Kent G. Indians, Missionaries and Merchants: The Legacy of Colonial Encounters on       the California Frontiers. Berkeley: UC Press, 2005.  

Lightfoot, Kent G., Ann M. Schiff, Thomas A. Wake. “Native Responses to the Russian Mercantile Colony of Fort Ross, Northern California.” Journal of Field Archaeology. (1993): 159-175. 

Lightfoot, Kent G., Lee Panich, Tsim Schneider. “Archaeology, Oral History, and Lived       Experiences.” Berkeley: UC Berkeley Department of Anthropology, 2004.  

Lightfoot, Kent G., Otis Parrish, R. Jewett, B. Parkman and D. Murley. “The Metini Village Project: Collaborative Research in the Fort Ross State Historic Park.” Society for California Archaeology Newsletter 35.2.1. (2001): 23-26. 

Parrish, Otis. The First People, Fort Ross, edited by L. Kalani, L. Rudy and J. Sperry. Fort       Ross Ftive Association, Jenner. (1998): 6-7.  

Fort Ross Interpretive Association.  <http://www.fortrossinterpretive.org/>