Iowa Project AWARE is an annual volunteer river cleanup event, to be held this year along the Turkey River in northeast Iowa. As part of the event, they host afternoon and evening educational programs that are free and open to the public. For a full slate of programs, please visit their website.

These programs are typically held in the Project AWARE camping area. Watch for signs as you arrive at the park! Anyone attending these programs should bring a lawn chair and any other afternoon/evening supplies you might need to sit outdoors (sunscreen, bug spray, weather appropriate attire).

On Wednesday, July 15 at 7:30pm, Cindy Peterson from the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist will present Archaeology of the Turkey River Winnebago Subagency at Elkader City Park.

Talk Description: Excavations at the 1840s Subagency site revealed intact archaeological deposits still remain preserved here, despite its current use as a modern farmstead and cultivated farm field. The U.S. government’s activities at the site were varied and aimed at deterring the Ho‑Chunk from returning to their Wisconsin homelands, encouraging assimilation into Euro-American lifeways, and discouraging their traditional practices. These efforts included distributing annuities, providing job training and blacksmithing services, and operating a school for Ho‑Chunk children.

Bio: Cindy began working at the Office of the State Archaeologist in 1992, with one of her earliest projects taking place at the Turkey River Subagency. After many years serving as an archaeologist, Cindy became an OSA Research Director in 2019. Her BA is from Wartburg College and her MA in Anthropology is from the University of Nevada, Reno.