Archeology E-Gram February 2022

Former NPS Regional Archeologist Roger Kelly Passes

Roger Edward Kelly Jr., age 83, passed away on December 26, 2021, in Burlingame, California, after a long illness. He earned his BA from Beloit College and MA and PhD from the University of Arizona. He then worked at the Museum of Northern Arizona, where he did ethnographic and archeological research. He also taught anthropology at Northern Arizona University. After completing his PhD, he taught at California State University, Northridge, for two years. He then spent the rest of his career as the Regional Archeologist for the NPS (then) Western Region. After nearly 32 years of service, he retired from the NPS, but continued teaching part-time until his health failed.

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site Loses a Valued Volunteer

Harvey Steele, a longtime volunteer at Fort Vancouver NHP passed away on January 25, 2022. In his professional life, Steele was an art and antiques appraiser with the US Treasury Department, and an enthusiastic supporter of citizen science in the Pacific Northwest and at Fort Vancouver.

With NPS regional and park archeologists, Steele led Oregon Archaeological Society (OAS) volunteers in the large excavations at the site of the Sale Shop in 1974. The project opened 21 excavation units and found structure footings and and artifacts associated with Hudson the Bay Company (HBC).

In the 1980s, Charles Hibbs and Steele, through OAS, directed two large projects at Fort Vancouver. OAS archeologists collected architectural information that aided in reconstruction and furnishing of the counting house and jail and educated community members in archeological methods. In the final report on the jail excavations, Steele and Hibbs identified the project as a “milestone in citizen archaeology,” and noted that direct public involvement was necessary to garner public support for archeology, including legislative funding of archeological programs.

In addition to two site reports, Steele wrote about the effects of tariffs on the HBC's British goods, studied Chinese ceramics from the Netarts Sand Spit site, and carried out ceramics analysis on collections from the Clah-Cle-Lah site at Bonneville Dam. He was also an instrumental force in the Customs House reconstruction at Astoria, among other projects.

Harvey's son Jonathan is seeking anecdotes from the people his father worked with. Send any memories to Doug Wilson at [e-mail].

For much more information about Harvey Steele, go to http://steelefamily.net

National Park Service Announces Federal Preservation Officer

Stephanie Stephens, Deputy Associate Director of Cultural Resources, Partnerships, and Science for Park Programs and National Heritage Areas, is designated as the NPS Federal Preservation Officer (FPO). Turkiya Lowe, NPS Lead Historian, and Jeffrey Durbin, Section 106 Compliance Program Manager, are designated as Deputy FPOs.

Richmond National Battlefield Park Acquires New Land at Malvern Hill Battlefield

Richmond NBP has acquired 371 acres of land at the Malvern Hill Battlefield in Henrico County, Virginia, from the Capital Region Land Conservancy (CRLC). The acquisition brings the total amount of land preserved by the NPS at Malvern Hill Battlefield to approximately 1,300 acres.

Fought on July 1, 1862, the Battle of Malvern Hill pitted Confederate Robert E. Lee’s forces against Union forces led by George B. McClellan. Approximately 50,000 soldiers fought on each side, with McClellan’s forces launching the attack in an effort to take the Confederate capital of Richmond. McClellan's army won the battle from a tactical standpoint, but his withdrawal across the James River and failure to capitalize on his army’s success made this a strategic victory for Lee.

The land brings into the park the leftmost end of the Union infantry position atop the hill and preserves two ridges from which Union cannon fired in direct and effective support of their comrades. This newly acquired acreage illustrates the importance of terrain in shaping the course of battle.

More information about the Malvern Hill Battlefield and Richmond NBP can be found at www.nps.gov/rich or www.Facebook.com/RichmondNPS.

Grand Canyon National Park Launches Webpage about Associated Tribes

Grand Canyon NP has launched an associated tribes webpage which will be accessible via the park’s main page. The site features information on projects involving the associated tribes. It includes a short NPS-produced video Breath of this Land that addresses the attempted erasure of indigenous peoples and the enduring connection between tribes and their ancestral lands. The website and video are demonstrations of the commitment of park staff to ensure that indigenous perspectives will become increasingly integrated into park management in the coming years.

To view the webpage, go to https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/historyculture/associated-tribes.htm.

The Federal Archeologist’s Bookshelf: Twenty & Odd

In honor of Black History Month, I wanted to bring to your attention a special celebration of African American endurance in our country. Twenty & Odd is a short NPS film produced by six African American women as part of the 400 Years of African American History Commission Act signed by Congress in 2018. The film explores the trauma, resilience, and beauty of the African American experience in America.

Through compelling imagery, and narrative of "Still I Rise" a poem written and narrated by Dr. Maya Angelou, the team created a beautiful film. Twenty & Odd provides an opportunity to motivate and empower people to cultivate personal connections with national parks and embrace parks as welcoming sources of wellness and healing.

The title, Twenty & Odd, comes from English colonist John Rolfe’s description of the first enslaved Africans brought to Virginia in 1619. The creative team chose this title to reclaim power from Rolfe’s phrasing and celebrate, through the lens of national parks, Black and African American communities’ contributions to our collective heritage.

To watch the film and learn more, go to
Twenty & Odd - African American Heritage (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

GRANTS AND TRAINING

Horace M. Albright-Conrad L. Wirth Grant Program Applications Available
The NPS Horace M. Albright-Conrad L. Wirth Grant Program (AWGP) is a developmental opportunity that annually awards funding for personal and career development projects to NPS employees. Examples of previous years grant recipient projects include:
• Learning a new trade or skill
• Developing and/or improving a foreign language skills
• Receiving certifications
• Pursuing higher education
• Conducting and/or publishing research
• Job details and job shadowing
• Going to training or bringing training to Park/Program Office
• Attending a developmental or educational conferences

Go to the 2022 application announcement on the Common Learning Portal (CLP) for the Program Guidelines, FAQs and the on-line application link.

ARPA Snapshot Series
ARPA Snapshots are designed for Law Enforcement and cultural resource professionals who want to refresh their skills, look more closely at a particular topic, or explore new directions that the Archeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) may take them in their work. Everyone is encouraged to participate in ALL Snapshot offerings.

Presenters:
· Caven Clark, retired NPS Archeologist
· Randy Ream, retired Assistant United States Attorney
· Robert Still, NPS Special Agent

Upcoming Sessions
April 6 – ARPA Field Damage Assessment (FDA) Presenter: Caven Clark
Be prepared before you get called out to document an ARPA case.

April 20 – ARPA Law: How to Prove Your Case Presenter: Randy Ream
Elements of ARPA, relevant statutory definitions, and proving intent.

May 11 – ARPA Resource Damage Assessment (RDA) Presenter: Caven Clark
What goes in an RDA and how do you get there from your FDA?

May 25 – ARPA Sentencing and Sentencing Guidelines Presenter: Randy Ream
What both LE and CR need to know for an ARPA sentencing hearing.

June 8 – ARPA and Tribal Partners Presenter: Caven Clark
Working with tribes to both satisfy legal requirements and build trust.

June 22 – ARPA Patrol: Investigation Basics Presenter: Robert Still
What you need to know to effectively coordinate an ARPA investigation

All webinars are offered using the MS Teams platform at 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET
Registration links and more details about each webinar are available on the Common Learning Portal.

Contact: Cari Kreshak, Cultural and Natural Resources Learning Experience Coordinator, [e-mail]

Wildland Fire Resource Advisor (N-9042) Training - May 2022
This free course provides participants with the background to serve as Resource Advisors during wildland fires, working with Incident Management Teams and firefighters to minimize the impacts of fire and fire management actions on natural, cultural, and social resources.
When: May 1-30 (approximately 25 hours of online self-study) and May 24, 25, or 31 (attend one four-hour live webinar session).

Where: Delivered through the Wildland Fire Learning Portal.

Who: Resource managers, wilderness managers, fire managers, and anyone else who is interested in serving as a Resource Advisor or learning about resource advising.

Why: The peak of the fire year becoming longer and more severe, threatening the fundamental mission of the National Park Service and the values it protects. Preparation is the key to minimizing impacts. We need YOUR help, and YOU can make a difference!

How: Enrollment instructions will be available in early March. To receive a direct email notification, or ask questions about the course, please complete this form.

Still unsure if this course is right for you? Check out some common myths about resource advising.

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC: John Wesley Gilbert, the First African American Trained Archeologist

Born into slavery, John Wesley Gilbert became a classicist, a linguist, an archeologist, and an educator. His drive, faith, and commitment to education took him from the poverty of his native Georgia to Brown University, Greece, Africa and beyond. He was the first African American to attend the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece, in 1890 and 1891.
Gilbert was among the first students at the Methodist-sponsored Paine Institute (now Paine College), an HBCU in Augusta, Georgia. In 1886, Gilbert was given financial assistance to transfer into the Junior class at Brown University. There, he was among the first ten black students to attend the school.

While at Brown, Gilbert received a scholarship to attend the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, at the encouragement of Albert Harkness, a prominent classicist and professor at Brown and a founding member of the American School’s Managing Committee. Gilbert was the first African American to attend that school and remained the only one to have done so until 1901.

Gilbert — who mastered French, German, classical and modern Greek, Latin, and the African languages Otetela and Tshiluba — was among the first Americans of any ethnicity to do professional archeological work in Greece, the Mediterranean or Near East. In addition to excavating at the ancient city of Eretria, Gilbert wrote a thesis about ancient Athens that helped earn him an MA from Brown — the first it awarded to an African American.

In 1891, Gilbert returned to Augusta, Georgia to teach Greek, French, German, Latin, and Hebrew at his former school, Paine College. His appointment caused an uproar, since he was the first African American faculty member at Paine. He taught there for over 30 years. In 1897, Gilbert was honored with election to the American Philological Association.

Gilbert also went to the Belgian Congo in 1911 and 1912 as a representative of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church (now the Christian Episcopal Church). His partner in the mission was Walter Russell Lambuth, a Euroamerican bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The pair helped establish a mission at Wembo Nyama in central Congo that still exists today. Their partnership highlights Gilbert’s lifelong commitment to interracial cooperation.

In 2020, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens named the newly renovated Student Center after Gilbert.

For more about Gilbert’s life, read The First Black Archaeologist: A Life of John Wesley Gilbert by John W. I. Lee (2022).

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