Abstract

In recent years, the Archaeology Branch of the province of New Brunswick bas been actively pursuing a policy to develop an awareness of archaeology in the public, both at a local level and through tourism. This has been accomplished through a number of programs. This paper will discuss their development and implementation. A prime example of such programming is the Enclosure Provincial Park project. The Enclosure Provincial Park, on the Miramichi River, was the site of excavations in 1990 and 1991. These excavations revealed evidence of habitation in the 18th and 19th centuries by Acadian, Planter, Loyalist and later settlers. During both of these field seasons the public and the local community were involved in all activities at the site through volunteer programs, site tours, interpretation, and community events. This project and others like it are attempting to invest local groups in archaeology by developing direct links between people and the archaeological past. This paper will discuss this and other projects in terms of the shift from private to public archaeological research, and in practical terms, examining benefits and pitfalls of the potential for public involvement in both the excavation process and the narration of the archaeological record.