Project Title: Understanding Shenandoah’s Native American Story

Project Purpose: to learn and tell the stories of the Native Americans who belonged to this land.

Project Goals:

• to establish a fellowship to recruit and hire a doctoral candidate or post-doctoral historian
• to assimilate and analyze the many studies that have been conducted in the park and in the region about how Native Americans lived on the land of the Blue Ridge, particularly land that became Shenandoah National Park
• to build relationships with local tribal leaders
• to help shape how, where, and when we will make the information and interpretation available to interpreters and others that can amplify that knowledge and understanding

Project Impact: “This project will fill a void in the park’s inclusivity if we can learn what is known and understood about this difficult history and begin to include it in our interpretive scope. We can reach out to those that share our desire to amplify these untold stories and collaborate to build trust and respect with those who have been disenfranchised in the past.​”

Project Funding: $70,000 in FY25 and in FY26