2025 Archeological Investigations in the Meadow

Grand Portage. Eastman Johnson, 1857

St. Louis Historical Society / Public Domain

Camp scene at Grand Portage. Painting by Eastman Johnson, 1857

St. Louis Historical Society / Public Domain

In 1854, the Chippewa of Lake Superior entered into a treaty with the United States whereby the Chippewa ceded to the United States ownership of their lands in northeastern Minnesota. In 1857, the artist Eastman Johnson painted two views of a Grand Portage village with recognizable land features in the background. These paintings represent what could be the original reservation village and are the only known existing documentation of this period.

Supporting this hypothesis, Midwest Archeological Center conducted magnetometry surveys in 2014 and 2015, showing areas that could represent buildings or signs of habitation. During 2019 Grand Portage began exploratory excavations, resuming in the summer of 2025, to determine whether community members (instead of government representatives) used this area and to learn more about their lifeways over time.

Grand Portage archeologists hope to find evidence that this area is the first reservation village that formed after the treaty of 1854, aiming to date how long this area was inhabited and what different areas were used for. It is likely artifacts will be from several different eras of use and what was the relationship to the nearby historic fur trade fort.

Meadow site with fireweed.

NPS Photo / A. Hernandez

The area chosen to research and sample is from an anomaly spotted on a magnetometry map that does not correlate to Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) buildings or have any known documentation on historic aerial photographs. The hypothesis is that the area has connections to the original reservation village from approximately the 1800s. Not much is known about occupation before the BIA era or how the area was used.

The first unit.

NPS Photo / GM Spoto

Over the course of the summer, archeology staff excavated several units based on information from magnetometry surveys and metal detection. The goal is to reach subsoil containing diagnostic artifacts. A unit will be completed once a clay subsoil that correlates with historic lake-level fluctuations is reached.

Archeology technicians at work.

NPS Photo / A. Hernandez

Digging began in July, 2025 and was cut short by the 43-day government shutdown. It may continue next year. After marking a unit with pins, flags, and string, the procedure is first to remove the sod, then carefully to dig and sift 3 cm deep layers.

Small glass bead.

NPS Photo / A. Hernandez

The first unit produced three artifacts: a small piece of glass, a machine cut square nail dating from the 1800s, and a small clear glass bead. It ended at 29 cm and included some large rocks that had to be worked around. Even though strong magnetics suggested the next unit, no cultural materials were found to a depth of 22 cm.

Artifacts labeled by unit and date.

NPS Photo / GM Spoto

The next three units are outside the bounds of the magnetometry map and were determined using metal detectors. The first of these three units produced 34 artifacts, the second 15 artifacts, and the third a small pink glass bead. These artifacts date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

This project is ongoing and will continue.