Native Perspectives on the Fur Trade: Searching for Historic-Period Ojibway and Dakota Sites in Wadena

The short-term goals of this project were completed within the allotted time: they included conducting documentary research at the MHS and archaeological surveys (geophysical and archaeological).

The intermediate goal of this project was also completed withing the alloted time: this included completing the documentation of the site, artifacts, and analysis. All paperwork has been digitized, maps of the site created, photographs logged, artifacts identified and dated (when possible).

Two types of analyses are incomplete, and those are the specialized analysis of the animal remains and the macrobotanical analysis of the flotation samples recovered from the features. These specialized analyses require a more long-term research program. We hope that these analyses will be finalized within the next year.

The long-term goal of this project, publication and preservation, is ongoing. This is mostly due to the fact that the excavations provided little definite information on the historical context. It is thus difficult to relate the recovered data to a particular time period, as the connection to the fur trade is not well established by the artifacts recovered.