Enslavement at Fort Snelling: Challenging Colonialism at One of Minnesota's Most Celebrated Historic Sites

Abstract

Following nearly 20 years of archaeological excavation, Historic Fort Snelling, a tourist destination located near St. Paul Minnesota, was finally opened to the public in the Fall of 1970. Although the archaeological project was exhaustive and the reconstruction of the buildings was meticulous, the historical narrative presented at the site was inaccurate and incomplete. Hiding behind the façade of scholarly objectivity, the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) presented a Euro-American fantasy as fact and participated in the continued colonization of American Indians, African Americans, and other marginalized communities. The current study challenges the historic and contemporary interpretation at the site through the use of Black Feminist Thought and African Diaspora Archaeology. This dissertation details the ways in which the artifacts retrieved from earlier archaeological projects might be reinterpreted to challenge current and past interpretation at the site.