One of the oldest established Indian reservations in the United States is under threat from climate change-driven complications and shoreline erosion. But the Pamunkey Indian Tribe is working with William & Mary researchers to preserve the reservation’s archaeological record before it’s too late.

The tribe has partnered with the Center for Coastal Resources Management at W&M’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science to assess and combat the growing threat of sea-level rise through shoreline stabilization and restoration of the reservation’s riparian boundaries.

It also joined forces with the university’s Center for Archaeological Research to conduct the first archaeological survey of sites along the reservation’s shoreline. That survey, supported by the Cultural Resource Fund and obtained through the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, is led by archaeologist Christopher Shepard Ph.D. ’17.

With tribal members working alongside W&M researchers, the survey uncovered more than 5,000 artifacts from around 8000 B.C. to the Revolutionary War era.

From an archeological standpoint, this place is a treasure trove. We’re working as fast as we can to document the archeological resources on the shoreline that tell us about how our ancestors lived. Honestly, we don’t know how much longer this peninsula is going to be a peninsula, so we want to preserve and protect that history that tells us about who we are.”

— Ashley Atkins Spivey Ph.D. ’17

The project offers another illustration of William & Mary growing community partnerships that engage stakeholders and have impact – this time to the preservation of the world’s cultural heritage.

Ashley Atkins Spivey Ph.D. ’17, tribal liaison for W&M’s American Indian Resource Center and a member of the Pamunkey Tribe who lives on the reservation, says she hopes the partnership will demonstrate the value of working directly with tribes to conduct research beneficial to their communities.