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Our Mission
The Exploring Joara Foundation is committed to public archaeology and the study of Native American and Spanish settlements in the upper Catawba and Yadkin river valleys of North Carolina between 1450 and 1700.
An archaeological study of Upper Creek and Warrior Fork in 1996 identified 26 Native American sites. As of 2009, almost half of those sites were already covered by commercial development.
As many as 100 to 200 additional sites are yet to be found. Each year, unique and important archaeological resources are lost to development in the Catawba and Yadkin river valleys.
The preservation and study of these resources will encourage significant heritage tourism in Burke, Caldwell, Catawba and McDowell counties of North Carolina.
These resources are unique and non-renewable.
Once lost – they are gone forever.
Help the Exploring Joara Foundation Unearth the Forgotten Past.