With National Science Foundation support, Mr. Chris Koonooka will attend the University of Washington's archaeological field school to be held on Kodiak Island (Alaska) from June 20 to August 10, 1998 The program will be conducted at and around the Tanginak Spring site and is designed to give students a broad range of training in archaeological techniques. Field instruction will include training in archaeological surveying, mapping, excavation, note-taking and photography. Laboratory instruction will focus on cleaning, cataloging, artifact analysis and elementary computer mapping. Mr. Koonooka is a Native Alaskan from St. Lawrence Island and is enrolled in the Department of Education at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He will be the first member of the St. Lawrence community to receive formal training in archaeology and will return to the island to teach young people what he has learned. Although Native American prehistory has formed an important archaeological focus for well over a century, almost no Native Americans have participated in the research process. This grant is part of a larger initiative by the NSF Archaeology Program to change this situation. St. Lawrence Island contains important archaeological resources and it will be extremely important to have an individual such as Mr. Koonooka involved in their management.
