Director Doug Wilson and the Fort Vancouver Public Archaeology Field School are winners of the 2016 Diversity Field School Competition.
The award, sponsored by the Society of Historical Archaeology, recognizes field schools that foster diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, abilities, and socio-economic background in archaeological research objectives, perspectives and participation.
The field school at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is a partnership among the National Park Service, Portland State University and Washington State University Vancouver. It epitomized conveying the importance of archaeology to diverse youth and urban communities in the Portland-Vancouver area while exploring a multicultural community, according to a news release.
Fort Vancouver was one of the largest settlements in the Pacific Northwest from 1829 to 1845, with residents of American Indian, Hawaiian, Métis and European ancestry.
Special events that connect traditional communities to the site include the protocols of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe on their annual canoe journey and visits by the Ke Kukui Foundation, a local Native Hawaiian and Polynesian organization.
