Detail
of Haa leelk'u has Kaa sta heeni deiyi Pole
at the park representing the clans of the
Sitka Tlingit. |
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Originally established
as Sitka National Monument in 1910, this park
was redesignated Sitka National Historical
Park (SITK) in 1972. SITK is Alaska's oldest
federally designated park and commemorates
the 1804 Battle of Sitka. It is located on
Pacific face of Baranof Island in the Alaskan
panhandle. According to its website (http://www.nps.gov/sitk/index.htm),
the park incorporates 112 acres (as of FY
2004) and is divided spatially and thematically
into two units. The 1843 log Russian Bishop's
House Unit comprises 1.15 acres of land within
the city of Sitka and commemorates the history
and culture of Russian America. The Fort Site
Unit, on the east margin of the city, encompasses
57 acres of rainforest and nearly 54 acres
of wetlands, Indian River channel, and tidal
flats. In this unit, park interpretation focuses
on Northwest Coast Native American culture
(with an emphasis on the Sitka Tlingit) and
the 1804 battle which allowed the Russians
to establish a permanent colony on Baranof
Island. |
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In 2005, SITK invited the National Park Service's
(NPS) Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) to conduct
a Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program (SAIP)
parkwide inventory at the park's Fort Site Unit.
The SAIP, also known as the National Archeological
Survey Initiative (NASI), was established in 1992
to respond to the Park Archeology Program's inadequate
knowledge of archeological site locations and. This
lack of information does not allow for adequate
servicewide protection and preservation of these
cultural resources. The SAIP's (and the SITK project's)
goals are to conduct systematic, scientific research
to locate, evaluate, and document archeological
resources on National Park system lands. Its objectives
are to: 1) determine the nature and extent of archeological
resources in park areas; 2) record and evaluate
those resources in the Archeological Sites Management
Information System (ASMIS) database; 3) include
nominating eligible properties for listing in the
National Register of Historic Places; and 4) recommend
appropriate strategies for conserving, protecting,
preserving in situ, managing, and interpreting those
resources.
Four years of inventory were projected to completed
the inventory. The first year, 2005, was scheduled
for metal detecting, geophysical, and hand excavated
shovel testing surveys. For further information
about the crews and accomplishments of the 2005
field season, click on "Year 1" below.
The second field season, in 2006, focused on shovel
testing with the goal of completing as much of
the Fort Unit as possible. For information about
the crew and accomplishments of the 2006 field
season, click on "Year
2". The goals for 2007 will be to complete
shovel testing and to conduct limited test excavations
at several locations where prehistoric and historic
features have been identified in 2006-2006. The
final year, 2008, will see additional test excavations,
presentations about the project in regional and
international archeological conferences, and completion
of a final report to the park. |
