How Archaeologists Study Native History and Culture in Michigan: Yesterday and Today

The Historical Association of South Haven is pleased to welcome Dr. Michael S. Nassaney for his lecture on “How Archaeologists Study Native History and Culture in Michigan: Yesterday and Today”
Archaeologists have long used material clues to reconstruct Native history and culture in Michigan. More recently they have begun to work with Native groups to gain a fuller understanding of past human activities and their meanings. This presentation will examine how archaeological approaches to Native pasts have changed since the passing of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990.

Dr. Nassaney is an archaeologist, author, editor, consultant and Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Western Michigan University. His research interests include the archaeology of colonialism, the fur trade, material analysis, public archaeology, and ethnohistory. From 1998-2020 he served as the principal investigator of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, an interdisciplinary program in community service learning that focuses on the site of Fort St. Joseph in Niles, Michigan. Nassaney has published numerous works on the archaeology of the eastern United States. His forthcoming book, The Historical Archaeology of Michigan (with Dean Anderson & Krysta Ryzewski) will be published this year.