Proceedings: Interpreting World Heritage
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Proceedings: Interpreting World Heritage SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO | MAY 1–5, 2006 Contents 3 Sometimes Interpretation Equals Preservation: Mammoth Model Protects Heritage Site Alex C. Bourdeau 5 Join the Corroboree: Interpretation Across the Seas Virginia Bourdeau, Janet Nagele, Alex Bourdeau 11 The Challenges facing Interpretation in a Third World Country with eleven official languages Lyn Britz 17 American Folklife Center Field Schools: Interpreting World Heritage Peggy A. Bulger 24 Through Interpretation, a Model for Sustainable Concession Operations at Denali National Park and Preserve Dominic Canale 32 Developing an Interpretive Planning Model for National Parks and Recreational Forest Kye joong Cho, Ph.D., Gary W. Mullins, Ph.D. 39 From Pornography to Probity: A New Approach to Interpretation Planning and Delivery at Port Arthur Julia C. Clark 47 San Juan: The city that grew beyond its walls Milagros Flores 51 Interpretation – Scotland’s Vital Spark Michael H Glen 57 Design and Delivery Strategies For Western Consultants Working in Non-Western Cultures Angela Graziano, Matt Gay 59 Cultural Heritage of Coffeehouses in Bosnia and Herzegovina Lidija Julari 75 Opportunities and Challenges: The Politics and Ethics of Interpretation K. Anne Ketz 81 The History and Current Situation of Interpretation in Japan Takeshi Kobayashi 83 The Invisible Man: Inclusion History John C.F. Luzader 88 What Is Living History? John C.F. Luzader 98 Leaving Las Vegas: Tourism and Community Isaac Marshall 99 Informal Education on Nature Study through TV Programs Goto Masakazu 103 Why Interpretation must be special for man-made landscapes Heidi Megerle 109 Finding Your Essential Experience: The Gateway To Memorable Interpretation Jay S. Miller 114 Interpretive Guides Are Not Aliens—We Are Professionals Ma. Elena Muriel 118 Integrating Interpretation into Sustainable Development Meena Nareshwar 124 Cultural Heritage as a Source of Regeneration and Welfare in Post-war South Lebanon Imma Plana 130 Challenges at the Interface of Interpretation on the Conservation of Cultural Heritage Virgínia Pontual, Anna Elizabeth de Azevedo, Flaviana Lira, Magna Milfont, Renata Cabral 149 Ecotourism and Interpretation at Medicine Hat College Jo-Anne Reynolds 151 Suitcase for Survival: A Partnership Program Randy Robinson 155 Interpretation in Science Simon Schneider 159 Teens For Planet Earth: Engaging Youth to Interpret Their Natural Heritage Ian Signer, Ana Laborde 160 Changing Interpretations of the Spanish Civil War Hugh Smith 173 Authentic Experiences: Addressing Holistic Health Sharon K. Strouse, Christopher M. Sieverdes 177 Interpretation or Informal Education? Defining Interpretation in the Context of Environmental Communication Lars F. Wohlers 182 How Much for an Interpretive Talk? A Case Study from Taiwan Homer C. Wu, Cellia Y. Fang 188 Graphic Design and the Visual Vernacular Paul Caputo Interpreting World Heritage 2006 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Association for Interpretation | www.interpnet.com 2 Sometimes Interpretation Equals Preservation: Mammoth Model Protects Heritage Site Alex C. Bourdeau Sometimes Interpretation Equals Preservation: Mammoth Model Protects Heritage Site Alex C. Bourdeau The Cathlapotle Plankhouse Project (CPP) is a multifaceted, cross-cultural undertaking intended to serve several purposes on the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. At its inception, the project was primarily concerned with exploring the archaeology of a major Chinookan town that was occupied on the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge during the late prehistoric. From this beginning, the project evolved into a major experiential, interpretive, and educational effort that counts among its proponents the Chinook Tribe, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Sevice), Portland (OR) State University, the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Committee for Clark County (WA), the people of present-day Ridgefield, Washington, and now the entire Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Crowning this effort was the recent completion of a full-sized replica of the plankhouses that Lewis and Clark described at Cathlapotle during their exploration of the area two hundred years ago. The Cathlapotle archaeology site stretches along a quarter mile of Lake River immediately upstream of this small river’s confluence with the Columbia River, a principal prehistoric, as well as historic, transportation corridor in the Pacific Northwest. The site was a bustling community of over 900 people at the time Lewis and Clark visited there on March 29th, 1806. The explorers described fourteen cedar plankhouses and people processing large quantities of “anchovies” (probably smelt), sturgeon, and wapato. The archaeological excavations at the site confirmed these observations and much more. The archaeology highlighted that the people of Cathlapotle were an important component of the Northwest Culture area. Their trade relationships extended along the Pacific coast from British Columbia, Canada south to northern California and east to the Rocky Mountains. It appears they were not only transporters of goods between these areas, but also manufactured wealth items and processed food that fed into this trade network. These people also managed the resources around their town to insure not only greater productivity but also sustainability. Unfortunately, modern development along the lower Columbia River and intentional looting by artifact collectors have destroyed all but a handful of archaeology sites that reflect the prehistoric cultures that existed in the area. Cathlapotle is perhaps the most important of the sites to have escaped destruction. As a result, after the site’s rediscovery in the early 1990s, it became the focus of renewed interest in the Chinookan people who lived here before Euro-American settlement. Interpretive programs describing the archaeology held during events at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge drew hundreds of people expressing this interest. Tours of the site, even after excavations were completed in 1995, were extremely popular, with groups of over 100 often making the hour long walk to view the site. This level of interest was soon recognized as both an opportunity and a potential hazard. With the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition approaching, the Service and the local community collaborated to develop a point of contact for the large numbers of visitors it was expected the anniversary would draw. It also became clear that the actual site of Cathlapotle was not an appropriate location for this nexus. Planners recognized that the principal reason that the site had avoided destruction by looters was its isolation. Our tours of the site were unintentionally making its location well-known. Furthermore, hundreds of people walking over the site were having adverse effects. As a result, ideas were explored for replacing the actual site with a facility that would evoke essentially the same visitor experience yet leave the actual resource intact. It was soon decided that construction of a replica of the houses described by Lewis and Clark and other early explorers would fulfill this need. The strong support for this idea expressed by the Chinook Tribe was critical for the success of not only the Plankhouse replica, but also for the archaeology and its interpretation. As the Chinook are not currently federally recognized, they have very limited resources by which to bring their story to the public at large. They’re interest in bringing about construction of the plankhouse replica was two-fold: to express their place on the landscape of the lower Columbia and to have a facility where they could hold traditional events. Interpreting World Heritage 2006 | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Association for Interpretation | www.interpnet.com 3 Sometimes Interpretation Equals Preservation: Mammoth Model Protects Heritage Site Alex C. Bourdeau Planning and construction of the plankhouse replica was a remarkable example of the talent available in even small communities. The replica is a major structure, over twenty meters long, ten meters wide and six meters high. It was the intent of all concerned to build the structure using both traditional materials and to the extent practical, traditional methods. One major stumbling block that reflects strongly on how things have changed since the prehistoric was our difficulty in finding sufficient numbers of old growth western red cedar from which to fashion the building. This difficulty was eventually overcome through a combination of remarkable effort to find donated material and in receiving sufficient financial support to buy the remainder. One of the key characteristics of Chinookan architecture noted by early explorers was their incorporation of carvings into the structural elements of their houses. The plankhouse project was blessed by the involvement of a number of Chinookan artists who designed and executed the figures seen on the ridge- posts that flank the ends of the building. Other issues that were not anticipated at the inception of the project were the challenges of building a traditional structure that met modern safety and health regulations. However, all these issues were eventually resolved without substantially changing the visual character of the building. Fire hearths were built that reduced that amount of smoke they produced. An American with Disabilities Act accessible door was even designed and installed that blended almost invisibly with the vertical cedar planks that form the walls. Although the plankhouse is now complete, the