Katherine Faull, Henry Stann, and Alexa Gorski (Bucknell University)
This summer our research team has created a database of historically significant locations and events to Native Americans within a five-mile corridor along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River between the years of 1650-1800. This time frame is also referred to as the pre-contact and early contact period, which is when European settlers began to immigrate. The West Branch was, most notably, both a transfer point between the Alleghany River and the lower Susquehanna River, and a bountiful hunting ground for the Iroquois, or Five Nations. Our investigations tell a story of the connections between cultures, landscapes, and lifestyles. Our final product is a map produced with GIS, which allows us display these locations in print and on-line, giving a visual representation of these important Native American locations, and making this important history present. Our work contributed to Stories of the Susquehanna, a long term research project that has been directed by Professors Katie Faull and Alf Siewers, with contributions from Brandn Green, Director of the Place Studies Program, Diane Jakacki, Digital Scholarship Coordinator, and nearly twenty fellow students.