This book is both a history of the Pacific Northwest of North America and an exposition on the practice of historical archaeology in the area. Although not directed specifically toward a general audience, it aims to make the subject engaging. Most chapters begin with a vignette representing the experiences of historical figures, followed by a logical discussion of the goals of the chapter and enlightening history lessons contextualizing archaeological findings, including at places related to those figures. This effectively connects the local experience to much broader, sometimes global processes. Furthermore, the introduction lays out several engaging themes to connect with readers, such as identifying the ways peoples represent themselves, memory of places, reinterpretations of the marginalized, entanglements of people and environments, and a view of the Pacific Northwest as a “place of confluence and conflict” (p. 12). The difficulty of defining the Pacific Northwest culturally and geographically is also discussed but thankfully not belabored. Instead, the resulting diversity is embraced as being distinctive.
Chapter 2 explains the development of historical archaeology in the Pacific Northwest. Roderick Sprague’s (Northwest Anthropological Research Notes 9[2]:6–19, 1975) outline of its growth from the 1870s to the 1970s is updated with a focus on the motives of investigations and discussions of the trend toward collaborative and community-led archaeology and reconciliation. Here, as in the roughly chronological summaries of shifts in colonial history that comprise the bulk of the book, Wilson goes beyond published sources to draw on an impressive wealth of gray literature—including graduate theses—and provides reflections on their fit within historical archaeology. This discussion illustrates how research in the region has not just followed but has helped to advance the agenda of historical archaeology more broadly.
Chapter 3 begins the thematic review of history, starting with evidence of “first contacts” between Indigenous peoples and Europeans in the Pacific Northwest. The interesting example of the Beeswax wreck shows how oral history, documentary sources, and material evidence are used to address historical questions. The rationale behind the search for terrestrial places of encounter is also explained, followed by a review of work at early fur-trading posts and contemporaneous Indigenous settlements, where the theme is adjustments to early stages of colonialism. As is the case throughout the book, these discussions are accurate and well-articulated summaries of goals and findings, although some readers may wish for concluding remarks about the connections between examples.
Chapters 4 and 5 overlap chronologically, covering the 1820s through the 1870s, and they focus on diversification of fur-trade enterprises and more direct intrusions on Indigenous lifeways, with examples drawn from archaeological projects on later fur-trade posts, Christian missions, military forts and battlefields, reservation forts, remnants of the Oregon Trail, and settler communities. The theme of conflict is prominent. Several disputes are explained, and their tangible remains humanized. Examples of research on Indigenous sites are viewed through the lens of accommodation, adaptation, and persistence in the face of increasing encroachments, whereas the impacts of reservations and associated forts are discussed from the perspective of survivance.
Chapter 6 departs from the chronological progression to pursue a particular research topic—death, burial, and commemoration. The examples are cross-cultural, reflecting the diversity of newcomers and the traditions they brought. The section on Indigenous mortuary practices confronts the checkered history of bioarchaeology and offers examples of studies that demonstrate resilience and continuity in commemoration. The necessity of addressing descendant community needs is prominent, especially as regards the documentation of residential school cemeteries.
Chapters 7 and 8 carry us from the mid-nineteenth to the twentieth century, exploring the expansion of industries, infrastructure, and urbanism. Interesting examples of archaeological research on agriculture, fish canneries, mines and mining towns, and logging are drawn from both sides of the international border. Continuities in ethnic identities, maintenance of cultural connections and values across diaspora, resistance against institutionalized racism, and evidence of class inequities are all masterfully illuminated from the projects surveyed. Examples of Indigenous presence and cultural persistence are provided within the context of expanding industries and settler populations, but they seem absent from the discussion of urbanism, reflecting a gap in research. Poignant reflections on people’s aspirations and daily lives are offered through the archaeology of failed homesteads, segmentation in railway towns, urban Chinatowns, World War II–era Japanese incarceration camps, and industrial shipyards.
In the concluding chapter, a sophisticated thesis is further developed for how archaeology can engage with the modern world, with examples from the archaeology of university campuses and the potential of Indigenous archaeology field schools. There is a critical discussion of cultural resource management and variation in public archaeology, and some important gaps to address are identified, including more attention to gender studies, life after World War II, and—for comparative purposes—more research on the dominant majority of settler communities. The concluding segment reminds us of themes common to historical archaeology that have been addressed, and what is compelling about a focus on the Pacific Northwest, including the relative recency of colonialism and spottiness of the settler presence, the distinctive character of the land, an emphasis on resource extraction economies, and the diversity of identities that contribute to the current social fabric. The overall product is a deeply textured view on the power of historical archaeology to flesh out, question, and humanize established narratives and to contextualize contemporary social problems, making it a fitting addition to not only the University Press of Florida book series the American Experience in Archaeological Perspective but also the libraries of archaeologists and historians who seek to broaden their perspective on the Pacific Northwest.
