<p> Images that come to mind when one thinks of the bucolic state of Vermont are not likely to include those of a mining landscape. These are reserved for the coalfields of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky, and perhaps the mining ghost towns of the American West. It is not surprising then that the discovery of substantial veins of copper in Orange County was to have dramatic impacts on not only the landscape of Vermont, but also its inhabitants. And in spite of the fits and starts of Vermont&rsquo;s copper industry, it owns a significant place in history. </p><p> Throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, no fewer than five copper mines were in operation in Orange County. The Ely Mine, located in the southeast corner of Vershire, became one of the most productive copper mines in the United States. At one point employing over 800 miners and laborers, most of whom were Cornish and Irish immigrants, the Ely Mine spawned the creation of a boomtown consisting of over 150 buildings and dwellings. Following one of the earliest labor strikes of the era, the mine closed and, within two decades, the town of Copperfield completely disappeared. </p><p> This thesis is an historical narrative that tells the story of the Ely Mine, its boomtown, and particularly its miners by weaving together primary resource material such as United States Federal Census and immigration records, letters, and historical photographs, newspaper articles, and maps. </p><p> <i>Copperfield</i> is a story of perseverance and tenacity not only on the part of entrepreneurs and businessmen, but also &mdash; and most importantly &mdash; on the part of the hundreds of immigrant miners who passed through the Orange County copper mines. Without the contributions of these &ldquo;ordinary&rdquo; people, there would be no story to tell.</p>

<p> The aim of this thesis is to study the practices and background of Voodoo in New Orleans through a holistic lens. This holistic lens includes researching the history of Voodoo in New Orleans, previous research done on Voodoo practice in New Orleans, contacting current practitioners and performing informal interviews, and participant-observation of New Orleans Voodoo rituals. This work is divided into three sections; the first delves into the history and current state of Voodoo of New Orleans. The second section discusses how Voodoo has influenced other cultural areas in New Orleans. The third section discusses how Voodoo and tourism interrelate with one another. The conclusion of this work addresses how through out history, influences on other areas of New Orleans culture, and tourism, the original ideas of Voodoo in New Orleans has stretched out beyond the original spectacle of Voodoo into the various ways individuals think about Voodoo. This also influences how practitioners view their own practice by reacting to how non-practitioners view Voodoo. It is like the metaphor of the snake eating his own tail, how Voodoo is practiced and then perceived by outsiders keeps feeding into each other.</p>

<p> This thesis details the Phase 1 archaeological investigation into Black-Americans who were active on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan during the mining boom of the 1850s&ndash;1880s. Using archaeological and archival methods, this thesis is a proof-of-concept for future work to be done that investigates the cultural heritage of Black Americans in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. </p><p>

Iroquoian philosophy and political thought survived solely in the minds of old men and women at the end of the nineteenth century. These ideas endure today because of ethnographers who patiently transcribed the elder’s oratory. One such ethnographer was a Tuscarora tribal member named John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt (1857-1937). Hewitt was a linguist who worked at the Smithsonian Institution’s Bureau of American Ethnology for fifty-one years and dedicated himself to preserving Iroquois thought. He was self-educated and became expert while assisting other staff ethnologists. Hewitt’s “Iroquoian Cosmology Parts I & II” (1903, 1928,) sealed his reputation as the leading Iroquois scholar of his day. In spite of this accomplishment, Hewitt’s reputation faded quickly after his death. This dissertation seeks to understand why Hewitt decided to withhold some material from publication, and looks towards Hewitt’s complicated relationship with the Iroquois – for whom he was both a fellow tribal member and a professional ethnographer – for the probable answer. Finally, I re-evaluate Hewitt’s place in the field of Iroquois Studies as the last of a group of notable self-trained ethnographers and examine the lasting impact of his work on contemporary Tuscaroras and other Haudenosaunee people.