Colonial Williamsburg At Carter’s Grove / Decolonizing Colonial Williamsburg

The first chapter, “Colonial Williamsburg at Carter’s Grove: Interpreting Slavery within Public History” focuses on the Carter’s Grove Plantation property, owned and interpreted by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation from the late 1960s to the early 2000s. Throughout the time of Colonial Williamsburg’s management, extensive historical interpretation was developed around the reconstructed enslaved living quarters on the site; the Carter’s Grove property offers a representation of many of the changes that occurred within public history, especially regarding the interpretation of plantation slavery. The second chapter, “Decolonizing Colonial Williamsburg: Indigenous History at a Settler Colonial Museum” takes a broad look at Indigenous historical interpretation at Colonial Williamsburg throughout its long history. The paper especially focuses on the beginning of Colonial Williamsburg’s outreach to Native communities starting in the 1990s and the changes in Indigenous interpretation starting after the creation of the American Indian Initiative, a dedicated program for Native interpretation, research, and outreach.