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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsLocal newsAfrican Slave Wrecks Project at NPS on St. Croix

African Slave Wrecks Project at NPS on St. Croix

Steve Lubkeman, from The African Slave Wrecks Project, told about 100 people Thursday at the National Park in Christiansted why they chose St. Croix to look for ship wrecks that may have been involved in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

Lubkeman, who started the project over 20 years ago at George Washington University, said there are unique archives that point him and colleagues in St. Croix’s direction. He said St Croix has a unique signature point of entrance to investigate. He added there are over 900 known ship wrecks, with North American territorial waters having the highest concentration.

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade ran to and from St. Croix under the Danish Crown from 1733-1803.

The goal is to better understand the physical remains and social history of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade through locating documented vessel remains associated with particular journeys when the trade was active.

“Ship wrecks force us to think of whose heritage is represented,” Lubkeman said.

David Conlin, archaeologist for the National Park Service Submerged Resource Center, said the NPS divers, archaeologists and photographers spent the last week in protected waters around Buck Island in a boat going back and forth with a magnetometer which is like a super-sensitive metal detector.

“It takes a long time to find things,” Jessica Keller, a NPS diver, said. “And we’re lucky if we do find things.” She said they have detected some items, but they don’t have any idea what they are. She said they will be here for one more week.

“We’re here to find a shared heritage and to protect that heritage,” Conlin said. “We’re here to help conserve, preserve and interpret stories of national shame.” He said people had difficult and inspiring lives. He said he hopes the community gets excited about the project and gives ideas for them to proceed and tell the story.

Paul Gardullo, from the National Museum of African American History
and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution, said they grapple with difficult subjects, but they are dedicated to telling the story and in the complete context.

“We didn’t come here for a comfortable story,” Gardullo said. “We want to help people understand the role of slavery in American History. The story is central to our shared story. We want to talk about the resistance and resilience of people.” He said any items they find will go on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016.

“The project isn’t a series of outside researchers coming in,” Lubkeman said. “We create ways to enable people to build. This is the first step in the beginning of the story. The process is driven by the community.” He said they want to engage with the community and not just document it.

Meredith Hardy, of NPS Southeast Archaeological Center, gave a brief history of St. Croix. David Morgan, the director of NPS Southeast Archaeological Center in Fla., said they have records of ships that went down from logs and insurance records.

The lecture was held at the Danish Guinea West India Company Warehouse/ Slave Market Building at the NPS Christiansted National Historic Site.

Joel Tutein, St. Croix NPS supervisor, said the Christiansted National Historic Site has a lot of cultural history still on site. He said they partnered with the project a year ago and he hopes it continues for years.

The project has been active in several African countries, including Mozambique and South Africa. The project partners with the National Black SCUBA Divers Association to train local youth to help in the care and recording of their national heritage in Diving With A Purpose. They also partner with the National Park Service, the Museums of Capetown, South Africa, the South African Heritage Resources Agency, and the Smithsonian Institution-National Museum of African American History and Culture.


David Goldstein, chief of interpretation and education at NPS on St. Croix, said the goals of this first field season on St. Croix are to identify historic resources for the National Park Service and the government of the Virgin Islands. He also hopes to locate historic shipwrecks in protected waters that may pertain to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, as well as to engage the public in helping to protect, record, and examine these wrecks.

Olasee Davis, extension specialist at the University of the Virgin Islands Cooperative Extension Services, agreed with the presenters that it was very important to preserve and give history to our children who don’t know much about what’s in the sea.

“This gives another dimension to Buck Island,” Davis said. He said he had documentation of over 100 ships that went down in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands. He said he supported the project and was with them 100 percent and he would be happy to work with them.

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