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Living Archaeology Weekend goes virtual at Daniel Boone NF

December 29, 2021

Woman sitting at a table, getting ready to be filmed. Cameras, lights and two crew members are ready to film her.
Christina Pappas describes the natural resources and methods American Indians used to create woven slippers during filming for The Living Archaeology Weekend Video series in September 2020. USDA Forest Service photo by Wayna Adams.

 

KENTUCKY – For over 30 years, the Daniel Boone National Forest has partnered with the Kentucky Organization of Professional Archaeologists and the Kentucky Archaeological Survey to bring Kentucky’s rich cultural past to life at Living Archaeology Weekend.

Normally, the September event takes place at the Gladie Visitor Center in the Red River Gorge. Artisans, tribal members, historians and specialists provide high-quality, interactive demonstrations on American Indian and pioneer technologies to thousands of students and their families.

When the 2020 event was cancelled due to the pandemic, the LAW steering committee devoted event funds to creating a swathe of digital resources to bring the LAW experience to students across the region without the risks of an in-person event.

“We had been talking about ways to expand the event and make the entire experience more accessible for a while now,” said Daniel Boone National Forest Heritage Program Manager and LAW committee member Wayna “Roach” Adams. “With the cancellation of the in-person event, the committee just had added incentive and capacity to explore a virtual Living Archaeology Weekend.”

With this renewed energy, the LAW committee went to work on a brand-new slate of digital learning resources. The “virtual” Living Archaeology Weekend experience began in September 2021 with the premiere of The Living Archaeology Weekend video series and continued through Native American Heritage Month with the rollout of classroom resources for both students and educators.

A group of 6 kids gathers at a table where an older gentleman is carrying out a demonstration.
Johnny Faulkner leads a demonstration on flint knap at the 2015 Living Archaeology Weekend at the Gladie Learning Center near Slade, Kentucky. USDA Forest Service photo.

 

“Living Archaeology Weekend has always been about connecting our present lives with the lifeways of the past,” said Adams. “These new digital resources take that message and weave it throughout a variety of standards-aligned lessons, activities and resources that empower teachers to bring Appalachian history alive in their own classrooms. People all over the world can now hear directly from renowned Cherokee Nation storyteller Choogie Kingfisher or watch a demonstration of Appalachian pioneer textile technologies without the barriers of an annual, in-person event.”

Neither the annual event nor these new virtual products would be possible without extensive collaboration. Some partners, like the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Kentucky Humanities, contributed significant funds to the project while others, like Voyageur Media, Western Kentucky University and the Kentucky Archaeological Survey made major in-kind donations. While many of these partners also contributed extensively to the content of the event, the LAW committee is especially grateful to past collaborators from the Absentee Shawnee Tribe and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee as well as continued consultation with the Cherokee Nation.

Explore the Virtual Living Archaeology Weekend experience.

 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/delivering-mission/deliver/living-archaeology-weekend-goes-virtual-daniel-boone-nf