People of the Thick Fur Woods: Two Hundred Years of Bois Forte Chippewa Occupation of the Voyageurs National Park Area

This report documents historical and archeological research regarding the historic use of the area now subsumed within Voyageurs National Park by members of the Bois Forte Band of Minnesota Chippewa Indians. It synthesizes historical and archeological data collected over a 16-year period by the author and Voyageurs National Park Cultural Resource Specialist Mary Graves. The period from 1736 through 1941 is the basic focus for research, with the period from 1880 to 1930 considered in greatest detail.
No specific project or funding source supported this study. Basic research was conducted as a component of parkwide archeological inventory, campsite management, prescribed fire management, day labor, cyclic maintenance, and other programs. Archeological fieldwork spanned 1979 through 2001 and ranged from multi-week, intensive field efforts by small archeological teams from the Midwest Archeological Center to brief, single-day reconnaissance efforts. Mary Graves, who shared all of her varied information sets with the author, gathered historical data over that same period. These range in scope from lengthy transcriptions of various payment rolls to single sentence citations in local newspapers. Most of the archeological fieldwork was conducted by Midwest Archeological Center teams under the author's direction between 1986 and 2001, although some data are derived from earlier Midwest Archeological Center field efforts.
The data sources utilized for the project are specified, and an overview of Bois Forte history as it relates to the project area is presented. This discussion begins with a general contextual presentation and moves to a more specific analysis of the Bois Forte occupation of the chain of lakes within the park. A basic theme of the presentation is that Bois Forte bands continued to occupy the lake chain that now forms the park for many years after they ceded the land to the U.S. Government through an 1866 treaty. The methods used by the Bois Forte to purchase or otherwise retain use of this land are primary report topics. The former structure, leadership, and membership of four bands that were resident within, or adjacent to, the current national park boundaries are reconstructed and analyzed from historical sources. Specific evidence of use of the area by these bands is then developed from historical and archeological data. This includes information from a wide array of historical sources and from about 40 archeological sites that have yielded historic features or artifacts attributable to Bois Forte Chippewa occupation. Based upon historical evidence, several of these sites are shown to be the result of occupation by specific, named individuals or families.
This historical and archeological analysis is presented according to specific areas of the park where evidence of Bois Forte occupation has been found . These are Crane Lake, Sand Point Lake, Moose Bay of Namakan Lake, the northern part of Kabetogama Lake, Kettle Falls, and Black Bay of Rainy Lake. Emphasis is placed upon providing historical background for use of these areas, followed by presentation of confirming archeological evidence. Off-reservation allotment lists, annuity and other payment rolls, oral histories, newspaper accounts, and census records are heavily utilized in this effort. Data from traditional archeological inventory and very limited test excavation efforts provide the tangible evidence for this occupation. The most in-depth presentation is made for Moose Bay, which has been a primary archeological study area over the past 20 years. While the discussions for all the areas are generally similar, the data for Moose Bay are more extensive and therefore conducive to more detailed analysis.
The report concludes with a series of suggestions for future research and management of the Bois Forte-related archeological sites within the park and for future study of the associated historical record. The report is intended for an audience that includes park managers, interpreters, historians, ethnographers, archeologists, and the Anishnabeg descendants of the subjects of the study.

本报告记录了针对现今沃亚德斯国家公园（Voyageurs National Park）所辖区域的历史使用情况开展的历史与考古研究，研究对象为明尼苏达州奇珀瓦印第安人布瓦福特族（Bois Forte Band of Minnesota Chippewa Indians）成员。本报告整合了作者与沃亚德斯国家公园文化资源专员玛丽·格雷夫斯（Mary Graves）历时16年收集的历史与考古数据。研究的核心时间范围为1736年至1941年，其中1880年至1930年为重点研究时段。
本研究未获得特定项目或资金来源支持，基础研究作为公园全域考古调查、营地管理、计划火烧管理、日间作业、周期性维护及其他项目的组成部分开展。考古野外工作时段为1979年至2001年，工作形式涵盖中西部考古中心（Midwest Archeological Center）小型考古团队开展的数周高强度野外作业，以及简短的单日踏勘工作。玛丽·格雷夫斯在同期收集了历史数据，并将所有各类信息数据集分享给了作者。这些数据的范围跨度极大，从各类薪酬名册的长篇转录文本，到当地报纸上的单句引述均有涵盖。1986年至2001年间，绝大多数考古野外工作由中西部考古中心团队在作者的指导下完成，不过部分数据源自该中心更早的野外工作成果。
本报告明确了本项目所用的数据来源，并概述了与项目区域相关的布瓦福特族历史。该部分论述首先从一般性背景介绍展开，随后转向对布瓦福特族在公园内湖泊群定居情况的具体分析。本论述的核心主题为：布瓦福特族在1866年条约中将土地割让给美国政府后的数十年间，仍持续定居于如今构成该国家公园的这片湖泊群区域。布瓦福特族获取或保留这片土地使用权的相关方式，是本报告的核心议题之一。研究团队通过历史文献，重建并分析了曾定居于现今国家公园边界范围内或周边的四个部落的既往组织结构、领导层与成员构成。随后，研究团队通过历史与考古数据，论证了这些部落使用该区域的具体证据。这些证据来源广泛，既包括各类历史文献，也包括约40处考古遗址——这些遗址出土了可归属于布瓦福特族奇珀瓦人定居遗存的历史遗迹与人工制品。基于历史证据，其中部分遗址被证实为特定姓名的个人或家族定居所遗留。
本历史与考古分析按照公园内已发现布瓦福特族定居证据的具体区域展开，分别为克兰湖（Crane Lake）、桑德波因特湖（Sand Point Lake）、纳马坎湖穆斯湾（Moose Bay of Namakan Lake）、卡贝托加马湖北部、凯特尔福尔斯（Kettle Falls）以及雷尼湖黑湾（Black Bay of Rainy Lake）。报告重点为这些区域的使用情况提供历史背景，随后展示佐证的考古证据。本次研究大量利用了保留地外分配名单、年金及其他薪酬名册、口述历史、报纸报道与人口普查记录。传统考古调查数据与极为有限的试掘工作数据，为该定居行为提供了实物证据。穆斯湾是过去20年间的主要考古研究区域，因此报告对其进行了最为深入的阐述。尽管所有区域的论述框架大体一致，但穆斯湾拥有更为丰富的数据，因此可开展更为细致的分析。
本报告结尾部分针对公园内与布瓦福特族相关的考古遗址的未来研究与管理，以及相关历史记录的后续研究提出了一系列建议。本报告的目标受众包括公园管理人员、讲解员、历史学家、民族志学者、考古学家，以及本研究对象的阿尼希纳贝（Anishnabeg）后裔。