The Oregon Chinese Diaspora Project is an award-winning initiative that explores the lives of Chinese immigrants through archaeology and historical records. Led by the Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology, the project is a collaboration that’s partnered with Oregon State Parks, the Oregon Historical Society, the Portland Chinatown Museum and others. The Oregon Historical Society published a special issue of the Oregon Historical Quarterly that delves into this history.

A public archaeology day will take place at the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day on Saturday. Chelsea Rose is a historical archaeologist at the university and the director of the lab. Jennifer Fang is the director of interpretation and community engagement at Pittock Mansion and an advisor on the project. They join us with more about how the project is going and what’s been discovered so far.