ABSTRACT

Partnerships, consultation, and collaboration are important aspects of the preservation and management of archaeological resources. This chapter begins with an overview of the communities included in the term Keepers of the Land. It discusses both the issues involved in the development of the master plan for the Thompson Island Preserve and the development of this inclusive process. The chapter identifies a series of questions that the author believed should be addressed in discussions with the Indian communities or that would be of concern to the Indian communities in deciding how to proceed. In April 1998, Assistant Chief Clark asked for and received permission to conduct a vision quest at Thompson's Island, a known Native American cemetery located in Thompson Island Preserve, part of Delaware Seashore State Park. The Killen's Pond Adena site was first identified in 1938, when equipment operators mining sand and gravel for highway construction encountered graves containing Delmarva Adena-related artefacts.