Archeological Data Recovery at the Elbee and Karishta sites, Knife River Indian Villages NHS

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The NPS plans to conduct archeological data recovery within portions of the Elbee (32ME408) and Karishta (32ME466) sites immediately adjacent to the bank of the Knife River that sustained significant damage during the spring 2009 flood event at KNRI, Mercer County, North Dakota . Both the Elbee and Karishta sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as contributing sites of the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site Archeological District as of October 26, 1974 and revised on July 25, 1987. This data recovery project is being conducted in order to collect archeological information from areas within these two sites that are in imminent danger of loss during future high-water conditions. A recent archeological damage assessment (April 2009) conducted by archeologists from the Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) concluded that these sites had sustained significant damage during the spring 2009 high-water event and that data recovery, in order to salvage threatened near-bank archeological resources, is necessary for the long-term preservation of the archeological information contained within the Elbee and Karishta sites. The overall goals of this data recovery project are to (1) preserve a record of the archeological resources within the immediate vicinity of erosional banks at these two sites that would be adversely affected by future high water flood events, and (2) gather information that would produce a more complete understanding and interpretation of prehistoric activities at the Elbee and Karishta sites. The data recovery project will be conducted in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, the Archeological Resources Protection Act, the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act, Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Archeology, and applicable NPS guidelines. This agreement will also assist UND with training of its archeological field school students in excavation techniques. The University of North Dakota 2010 Archeological Field School will assist in conducting the excavations at both the Elbee and Karishta sites during May/June 2010. By assisting with the UND field school, the NPS will directly contribute to fulfilling the educational requirements for the undergraduate Anthropology majors attending the 2010 archeological field school.

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