“For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People"

Isabella Lecher (she/her)
Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska
Major: Classics, '27
Internship: Yellowstone National Park

Isabella Lecher, an archeology intern working at Yellowstone, reflects on the role of archeology, conservation, and the past and future of Yellowstone and the National Park System.

The first day I arrived at Yellowstone, I took a walk to the Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance. Constructed in 1903, the arch features a quote from the Organic Act of 1872, the legislation which created Yellowstone: “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People.” On my first day here, I read that quote, looked at the towering stone arch above my head, and thought about my place at Yellowstone and the role of the federal government in assuring the happiness of its people.

I spent my spring quarter abroad in Spain, where I visited an archaeology lab in León. This lab’s goal was to find and identify political victims of the Franco regime: desaparecidos who could only be identified through lab work like DNA testing. We also visited a graveyard and talked to the families of some of the victims. When we entered, someone told us that just beneath our feet, under the concrete, lay over eight unmarked graves. That made me think: how much death do we unknowingly walk over daily? We can never know what we don’t know.

Archeology is meant to fill this gap in the historical record. It can reveal stories that can’t be found elsewhere. 

This León visit helped inform my work this summer. Archeology must be done with care. These are people’s literal graves and the goods buried with them – caring deeply is part of the job. If I do not engage in archeology respectfully, mindfully, and carefully, I should not to be in the field at all. I must put the people associated with the artifacts before my own desires. As fun and interesting as it can be, at its core, archeology is best thought of as service work – service to the people in the past you’re interacting with, and to the people of the present connected to the place you’re excavating.

But does the federal government have the same obligations to the people of the past and the present? What should its role be? To benefit its citizens? To protect the land it owns? The United States is full of natural resources and riches its people ought to be able to enjoy; the National Park system is called “America’s Best Idea.” But what’s so great about it? Here I come back to the quote: “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People.” The point of Yellowstone isn’t to make money or to create value for some shareholder or CEO; it’s to protect and preserve our natural resources so that we, and generations to come, can truly enjoy our nation’s natural wealth. That is the point of Yellowstone: simply to exist for our delight. Isn’t that wonderful?

Yellowstone Archeology embodies this idea. Most of the work this summer has been survey work. In preparation for the disturbance of a certain area, such as for electrical construction or tree planting, the archeology team will be sent to a site to survey and ensure there are no artifacts that someone might disturb or destroy. Unless there’s an imminent threat to the artifacts, we will usually leave them where we find them. We walk around in sections – usually 20 to 40 feet wide – staring down at the ground, trying to pick out an artifact among the dirt and the rocks. Most of the time, we look for pre-contact, Native American artifacts, such as what archeologists call flakes or debitage: small chips struck off a tool or core during flint-knapping. It is very rare to find an entire arrowhead or tool; small flakes are much more common. Some materials we’ve found include obsidian, chert, and chalcedony.

To put it more simply: I get paid to hike around Yellowstone and look for cool rocks. Sometimes I have to take a moment, look up, and just remind myself of where I am. It may be hot, smokey, and tiring, but nonetheless, I am at Yellowstone National Park. Working archeology is already such a unique opportunity, and I get to do it all while hiking around one of the most beautiful places in the country.