April 2013 - Delaware Tribe of Indians

Page 10 Lënapeí Pampil (Delaware Indian News) April 2013Delaware Tribe HistoricPreservation OfficeBrice ObermeyerThe Delaware Tribe’s HistoricPreservation Office (DTHPO)is tasked with protecting and preservingsites of cultural and religioussignificance to the DelawareTribe. Such sites include currentand past gravesites, archaeologicalsites, and traditional culturalproperties.Documenting the ChambersSite at the Carnegie Museumof Natural HistoryAs part of our FY 2012 NAGPRADocumentation Grant, DTHPOstaff member Greg Brown continuesto work on the Cultural AffiliationReport for the cemetery atThe Abbott Farm SiteGregory BrownIn the last issue of the DelawareIndian News, we described the“Chambers”site, one of two Delawaresites in Pennsylvania andNew Jersey that the Tribe is helpingto document in preparation forthe repatriation and respectful reburialof several hundred individuals.In this issue we want to tellyou about the other site—”AbbottFarm.”The Abbott Farm site is one ofthe most famous archaeologicalsites in the New Jersey area, hometo Delaware ancestors for at least10,000 to 11,000 years.The Abbott Farm Complex is apart of a large complex of archaeologicalsites in Trenton, NewJersey, in what is now the AbbottFarm Historic District, a NationalRegister landmark. These siteshave been excavated off and onfor close to one hundred years(though human burials have notbeen excavated since the 1930s).Several burials from these sitesended up at the Peabody Museumof Archaeology and Ethnologyat Harvard University. These aredwarfed by the very large numberof burials from these sitesthat were removed by the IndianSite Survey in during the 1930sby a crew under the direction ofDorothy Cross. These burials arehoused at the New Jersey StateMuseum, along with associatedfunerary objects.Other material from these sitesprobably resides at the AmericanMuseum of Natural Historyand the Field Museum in Chicago,both of which had connectionswith Ernest Volk, one on thefirst excavators of the sites in the1890s, and several others.While the sites encompass humanoccupation starting about9,000 BC, the Abbott Farm isknown mostly for two types ofsites: lithic (stone) scatters associatedwith the “TrentonGravels,”once thought to be ofvery great antiquity (and sincethe Chambers Site or KuskuskiesVillage in western Pennsylvania(a late 18th-century Delaware village).Once completed, we willwork with the Carnegie Museumto invite the affiliated tribes toconsult with us as we move forwardon the documentation effort.Student InternAs described in the last issue ofthe DIN, the Delaware Tribe ofIndians now has a formal relationshipwith Emporia State University(ESU) in Emporia, KS. DTHPOdirector Brice Obermeyer, wholargely discredited), and the largestarchaeological site on the EastCoast dating to the Middle Woodlandperiod (ca. 1-900 AD).The Delaware Tribe of Indians,along with our cousins theDelaware Nation and StockbridgeMunsee Community, are workingto repatriate the human remainsfrom these sites, currently storedin a variety of museums.If you know anything about thissite, we invite you to contact usat gbrown@delawaretribe.orgor bobermeyer@delawaretribe.org.■Excavation of a large pottery vessel at Abbott Farm in the late1930s.also teaches at ESU, has recruiteda spring-semester intern, Sociologymajor Madeline Lousch, whois primarily working on compilinginformation on Woodlands kinshipto be included in the kinshipsection of the Chambers affiliationreport while also helping identifyadditional sources and maps to beused as well. We are enormouslyappreciative of her hard work, andthe hard work of other ESU studentswho have helped us out.National RegisterNominationBrice continues to draft a nominationto the National Registerof Historic Places for “DelawareTown” in southwest Missouri,part of our FY 2011 Tribal HistoricPreservation Grant. The narrativeportion of the nominationis almost finished, pending a fewquestions for the Center for ArchaeologicalResearch (CAR) atMissouri State (which performedthe archaeological work at thesites). We are still anticipating acompleted draft by March 2013..Section 106 ReviewsThe DTHPO performed a total of72 consultation reviews for privatecompanies as well as manyother reviews for public agenciesin January (48 reviews) and February(24 reviews).Consultation with theChicago Field MuseumThe Chicago Field Museum holdsa portion of the human remainsand funerary objects from the AbbottFarm Collection. In anticipationof an eventual repatriation ofthe collection, we are initiatingconsultation with the museum todetermine the cultural affiliationand reunite the portion at the ChicagoField Museum with the otherAbbott Farm collections in othermuseums. During this initial visit,we plan to view the collection andcollect museum records about thecollection history and treatmenthistory. Our consultation visit isfunded under the FY 2012 NAG-PRA Documentation Grant.■Native Drummers Welcome Visitors toLondon for the 2013 World Figure SkatingChampionshipsDignitaries are welcomed by Aboriginal drummersCTV London, Mar. 10, 2013The Forest City is putting out the welcome mat for visitors fromaround the world.Many will be learning about “Canada’s London” for the first timeduring the World Figure Skating Championships.Several First Nations groups gathered at Museum London to officiallywelcome visitors Sunday.Food, culture and aboriginal history were all on display.“I think this is an appropriate time to remind people that we arehere,” said Chief Greg Peters of the Moraviantown First Nation.Native performers will also be part of Tuesday’s opening ceremonies.Read more at:http://london.ctvnews.ca/the-forest-city-is-putting-out-the-welcome-mat-for-visitors-from-around-the-world-1.1190065#ixzz2NX3ObzfX■