OR Chinese Diaspora: Malheur Mines 2021 - Passport in Time

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Oregon - Malheur NF
Closed! Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project: Malheur Placer Mines

Ocdp_2018_beverly_clement_happy_camp.jpg by US Forest Service
Beverly Clement with Chinese bowl fragment at 2018 Happy Camp PIT project


OR-4458
June 28-July 2, 2021

Volunteers must commit to entire session

Come on back to the Malheur this summer! From the 1860s through the early 1900s, hundreds of Chinese and Chinese-Americans mined for gold in the placer mines of the southern Blue Mountains in eastern Oregon. This is the final season of a multi-year project to learn more about the lives of these miners as part of the Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project (OCDP). We will be conducting field survey in known placer mining areas looking for evidence of Chinese camps. We will also conduct metal detector survey and limited test excavation at likely miners' camp locations. This has been a great project with fantastic, interesting results thus far – we hope you’ll join us for our final year on the project!

Please note: Strict COVID-19 protocols will be followed, including the wearing of masks, social distancing, etcetera. Additionally, given current national and global circumstances, some aspects of the project may be subject to change. The project leader will notify all selectees should this occur.

Number of openings: 6

Special skills: Previous metal-detecting, excavation, field survey, and/or artifact (particularly historic Chinese/Chinese-American) identification experience helpful, but not required

Minimum age: 18 years old

Facilities: Tent and small (pop-up or camper) RV camping available at nearby FS campground; vault toilets, potable water; no hook-ups; State and County Parks and other campgrounds available in surrounding area; Prairie City and John Day are full-service communities, with hotels/motels, B&Bs, restaurants, and a full range of other amenities; volunteers responsible for own camping equipment, meals, off-site lodging expenses, and daily transportation to and from designated meeting areas

Nearest towns: Prairie City, 20 miles; John Day, 30 miles; Mt. Vernon, 40 miles

Applications due: April 19, 2021

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