From the Pawtuxet Valley Historian Volume 14 Issue 6

The speaker at our January meeting was Michael Hebert, Supervising Historic Preservation Specialist/Archaeologist with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, Office of Environmental Programs, who spoke on archaeological discoveries in Rhode Island. Mr. Hebert stressed the state's commitment to protecting our environment against pollution, noise and loss of natural wetland, as well as protecting threatened and endangered species. In the late 1970s, as part of that mission, R.I.D.O.T. started to include archaeological surveys in its project developments. The archaeologist survey sites that may be damaged by proposed construction. If warranted, excavation is made and the results are sent to the R.I. Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission.

A relatively recent development for R.I.D.O.T., as well as for the Federal Highway Administration which gives us most of our money, is in co-ordination with Native-American tribes on projects which impact Native-American sites. Currently R.I.D.O.T. co-ordinates with three federally recognized tribes: the Narragansetts, the Mashantucket-Pequots in Connecticut, and the Wampanoags-Quinna in Massachusetts, and six non-federally recognized tribal groups:the Mashapee-Wampanoags, the Seekonk-Wampanoags, the Pokonoket Wampanoag Federation, the Pokonoket Wampanoag Nation, the Nipmuc Indian Council, and the Nipmuc Nation Tribal Council. All these tribal groups claim ancestral lands in Rhode Island.

As soon as human bones are discovered the R.I. Historic Preservation Commission is called. If Indian bones are found, the Narragansetts, the only federally recognized tribe in Rhode Island, are called in. The Narragansetts do not allow their ancestors to be disturbed. When a crew from R.I.D.O.T. was putting in new drainage on the edge of the pavement on Southwest Avenue in Jamestown, they came across an Indian burial. They were forced to reroute the drains to the other side of the road and cross back underneath in order to avoid the grave. The Narragansetts had R.I.D.O.T. place a piece of copper sheathing over the remains and then performed a ceremony because there was a little disturbance when the archaeologist came upon the grave. Other tribes are different, they take the remains and rebury them on their reservation.

When a cemetery is in the path of a project the burden is on the contractor to contact the RI Historical Cemeteries Commission and the RI Historical Preservation Commission. The cemetery is not only relocated but it is recreated following the original pattern including the use of the old stones in rebuilding the wall around the cemetery.

Mr. Hebert's subject was facinating. He told us a little about the excavation of the site for the new Phenix Avenue Bridge where a soapstone quarry was discovered. The Indians hauled large chunks of the stone to their campsit by the brook where they carved out bowls and other necessary items. A book entitled "Stone Bowls and Smoking Pipes," which details the 5000-year archaeological history of the site will be published later this year and Mr. Hebert promised to send us a copy.
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