Chapter 22
People Who Made a Difference
Snow - Starna - Gehring
The Dynamic Trio - of the Mohawk Valley Project
From the beginning of this Book-In-Progress, I've relied heavily on
the works of others to understand the discoveries I've made and to point
me in direction of new discoveries. Much of what I've learned came directly
from the fruits of the Mohawk Valley Project.
The Mohawk Valley Project began in 1980 as a cooperative
effort between the University of Albany and the College of Oneonta. Its
original purpose was to rescue and chronologically organize as much
information as possible from the "rapidly deteriorating archaeological
record in the Mohawk Valley." It did much more.
This
decade-long program, funded to a great extent by private and government
grants, was directly and indirectly responsible for gathering and disseminating
much of the current information on the early history of the Mohawk Valley.
Graduate students, undergraduate students and volunteers provided
the people-power to conduct archaeological digs, collect information and
photographs on public and private collections of artifacts , and to collect
historical documentary narratives.
In the beginning this project was spearheaded by archaeologists Dean R. Snow (Albany) and William A Starna (Oneonta). They were later joined by linguist Charles T. Gehring. Although each member of this dynamic trio has gone on to greater accomplishment, and their Mohawk Valley Project has been forgotten by many, I am forever grateful for their efforts in producing the following books:
A Journey Into Mohawk and Oneida Country 1634-1635
The Journal of
Harmen Meyndertsz van den Bogaert - Translation by Gehring & Starna
1988
The Iroquois - Dean R. Snow 1994
Mohawk Valley Archaeology: The Sites - Dean R. Snow - 1995
In Mohawk Country - Early Naratives about a Native People
- Snow, Gehring & Starna - 1996
I've read each of these books two to three times,
and never fail to learn something new. They helped me understand the early
history of the people who lived in the Mohawk Valley and guided me to ancient
village sites. I've used this information to better understand and write
about the Iroquois, the Mohawks, and the history of fishing, farming
and hunting.
In addition to information obtained from their writings,
I am indebted to Dean Snow and Charles Gehring for taking a personal interest
in my efforts to discover the Mohawk Valley.
I have one regret. The Mohawk Valley Project Field
School Website that provided information about the project and the participants
from 1982 to 1991 no longer exists.
