Helena-Area Teens are Making (and Preserving) History
BY MELISSA MUNSON, PROGRAM OFFICER, HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE
A new collaboration between the Montana Historical Society, Montana Discovery Foundation, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, and Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) is providing a career pathway for the next generation of archaeologists, while laying the groundwork to meet a critical need in cultural resource management in Montana.
The Youth Archaeological Survey Program provides high school students with hands-on training and experience in cultural resource management. The program launched this year as an addition to the foundation and the forest’s Youth Forest Monitoring Program, which provides high school students an opportunity to learn about forest ecology, monitor forest health, and engage with natural resource professionals.
Professional archaeologists from DNRC and the MTHS State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) trained and supervised students to record evidence of past human activity, including indications of structures used in the past by Native Americans and historic buildings built during Montana’s pioneer era. Students also learned about the relevance of cultural (From left) Robert Lesofski, Copen Earley, Gianna Gotowsky, and Gavin Payne take tipi ring measurements as DNRC Archaeologist Patrick Rennie observes in the background. resource surveys and management within the context of federal and state preservation regulations.
The archaeology team included four student interns and was led by a field instructor, Libby Zorn. She is an anthropology student at Montana State University, who learned alongside students how to identify and record sites, and how findings are incorporated into statewide GIS and cultural records databases.
“The opportunity to learn field methods isn’t something I would get through my coursework at MSU. Participating in this program has given me the chance to experience what field archaeology work might be like,” Zorn said.
After six weeks of testing their grit in the field, interns shared their findings with professionals in a final presentation. DNRC archaeologist Patrick Rennie, who provided survey sites and guidance for the students in the field, was in the audience.
“I was happy to see how enthusiastic these young people were about what they were learning,” Rennie said. “These kids are intelligent, curious, and hard workers. Their final presentation really reflected just how much they got out of this experience. Plus, DNRC got some real survey work done.”
Laura Marsh was a student intern in the Youth Forest Monitoring Program in 2010 and a field instructor in 2021. Partly due to that experience, she pursued a master’s degree in archaeology and now works for the Montana Historical Society. Marsh recently transferred from the MTHS’s Preservation Office to Outreach and Interpretation, where she is charged with coordinating the new partnership among the agencies.
“The forest monitoring program is a unique opportunity that lets young people experience what a career in the natural sciences would be like and really explore their interests,” Marsh said. “We hope that through the new archaeology team, we can more directly reach students who might be interested in the cultural resources field, which combines aspects of the natural sciences and social sciences.”
The Montana Historical Society and its partners plan to continue support for the archaeological component of the program in 2024. In February and March 2024, the foundation will start recruiting field instructors and interns entering grades 10 to 12. Contact Laura Marsh at (406) 444-4789 or Laura.Marsh@mt.gov for more information.