Professor of Anthropology Julia King and Adjunct Instructor of Anthropology Scott Strickland ’08 are featured along with Chief Anne Richardson of the Rappahannock Tribe in the June 2022 edition of American Archaeology Magazine. “Rewriting the History of the Rappahannocks,” written by Paula Neely, focuses on their work tracing the history and development of the Rappahannocks in early American history.
The faculty members of the Department of Anthropology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland first began studying the Rappahannock Tribe’s history in 2016 at the request of the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay Office, the Chesapeake Conservancy, and the Rappahannock Tribe. The work was undertaken to provide interpretive support for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. Following the NPS-funded project, the Tribe and King, Strickland, and St. Mary's College of Maryland students continued their collaboration. The survey of the greater river valley has been funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service’s Underrepresented Communities Program.
“For the first time in 350 years, we saw the territory in a whole new light,” Chief Anne Richardson says in the article. She added that the research validated the tribe’s oral traditions. “It’s been very healing for the tribe.” Read an excerpt of the article and learn more about American Archaeology Magazine at https://www.archaeologicalconservancy.org.
