Recognizing that the past belongs to everyone, and not just to a handful
of scholars, the _Anthropological Studies_ are directed to a general
audience. It is hoped that these studies will bring cultural enrichment
to the people of Louisiana and stimulate an interest in preserving our
historic and archaeological resources for enjoyment and study by future
generations.
Alan Toth
_State Archaeologist_
* * * * *
State of Louisiana
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
Baton Rouge
[Illustration]
EDWIN EDWARDS
GOVERNOR
July 5, 1978
CITIZENS OF LOUISIANA
This second edition of the Anthropological Study Series of the Department
of Culture, Recreation and Tourism and the Louisiana Archaeological
Survey and Antiquities Commission is dedicated to the late Margaret
Elam Drew, a charter member of the Commission. Affectionately known by
professional and amateur archaeologists as “Lady Margaret,” Mrs. Drew
and her close friend, Mrs. Rita Krouse, were instrumental in fostering
statewide governmental and private sector support for the protection of
Louisiana’s archaeological resources.
Mrs. Drew was the wife of Representative Harmon R. Drew of Minden. Her
interest in archaeology began in 1962, with her daughter’s curiosity
about the location of Indian tribes in Northwest Louisiana. Mrs. Drew, a
devoted history buff, and Mrs. Krouse enthusiastically began researching
possible Indian sites.
The Drew-Krouse team contacted Dr. William Haag, the Louisiana
State University professor later named as Louisiana’s first State
Archaeologist, for advice. Their research marked the beginning of a
fifteen-year partnership of field excursions, field training schools
and dedicated efforts to enlighten the public on archaeology and its
importance to everyone.
Webster Parish had no registered archaeological sites in 1962. Through
the efforts of Mrs. Drew and Mrs. Krouse there are now twenty-nine
such sites. Claiborne Parish had two registered sites; there now are
twenty-five. Mmes. Drew and Krouse established seventeen sites in
Bienville Parish alone.
In 1974, on Dr. Haag’s recommendation, I was honored to appoint Margaret
Drew a charter member of the Louisiana Archaeological Survey and
Antiquities Commission. Her appointment was but a token of her colleagues
and my appreciation for her efforts to promote the establishment of the
Antiquities Commission and her work to obtain public and private funds
for archaeological site surveys.
The publication of this study recognizes and honors the late Margaret
Drew. Her selfless and tireless dedication to the preservation of our
archaeological resources will, through ages to come, be credited with
helping preserve this precious part of Louisiana’s cultural heritage.
Cordially,
EDWIN EDWARDS
* * * * *
[Illustration: Margaret Elam Drew
(1919-1977)]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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