THE OPPORTUNITY

A proposed senior housing development project had passed through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s (PHMC) cultural resource review process, but also fell within the jurisdiction of the Delaware Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO). The THPO expressed concerns about possible encroachment on Native American archaeological sites. The proposed development lay within a few miles of the Okehocking Reservation, where William Penn had relocated a local Native group in 1701, and could easily have been used by members of that community. The developer needed guidance in an unfamiliar regulatory situation.

THE CHALLENGE

The Delaware Nation THPO has not issued detailed guidelines for archaeological survey. A scope of services and methodology was developed in consultation with the THPO. The THPO’s published protocol for inadvertent archaeological discoveries clearly expresses the Delaware Nation’s sensitivities regarding the removal of Native items from their original context and provides instruction regarding special procedures in the event that ceremonial objects are found. PS&S’s task was to complete the archaeological survey in a way that respected the tribal entity’s customs and point of view.

THE PS&S SOLUTION

After consulting Delaware Nation archaeologists, PS&S conducted archaeological testing of the property using conventional methods, but with the understanding that THPO’s specific protocols would be observed if artifacts were found. The survey did not, in the end, uncover any Native American artifacts and confirmed our suspicion that the property had been subjected to deep and extensive filling. PS&S submitted a report to THPO documenting the investigation and acknowledging the historical connections between the project area and the Okehocking and their predecessors. PS&S’s cooperative approach proved successful in promptly and unproblematically addressing the final regulatory hurdle facing the project.