Kathleen Lindahl

Senior State Archaeologist Kathleen Lindahl

Kathleen Lindahl
Senior State Archaeologist

Cultural Resources Division
1416 9th Street, Room 902
Sacramento, CA 95814
P.O. Box 942896, Sacramento, CA 94296-0001


Phone: (916) 653-9091
Email:  Kathie.Lindahl@parks.ca.gov

November 2006: Archaeologist Kathleen Lindahl sitting in the ruins of
Christopher Columbus’ house  (circa 1494), La Isabella, Dominican Republic.

Biographic Info:  I was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, living in Albany and Alameda.  I moved to Woodland in 1980 and graduated from Yuba College in 1989, and then from U.C. Davis in 1992 with a B.S. in Anthropology.  I have completed all the course work for a M.A. in Anthropology at CSU Sacramento, but not my thesis.

Career Info:  I started with State Parks in 1991 as a volunteer for the Museum Resources Center in West Sacramento, then began working as a seasonal at the Archaeology Lab.  I left State Parks in 1995 to gain field experience and worked in the private sector for various CRM firms and completed several projects at the Archaeological Research Center at CSUS until 1998 when I returned to State Parks.

I have worked at the Archaeology, History & Museums Division since 1998 under the direction and mentoring of John Foster, our Cultural Resource Programs Supervisor.  While with AHM Division I have done a number of projects throughout the state.  One of the most noteworthy was a survey of 90 coastal archaeological sites to determine impacts from coastal erosion and to develop stabilization plans for some sites.  This work resulted in a cooperative project with Mendocino District Environmental Scientists to stabilize two archaeological sites with the reestablishment of native vegetation and follow-up testing to another site in Santa Cruz District.  Another special project was the survey of one of our newest acquisitions, Peace Valley in the Sutter Buttes.  Working with Dionne Gruver and her team from the Northern Service center we recorded many new archaeological resources and a ranching landscape from the late 19th century settlement of the Sacramento Valley.  Last, but not least, I have been working with Axel Lindgren III and North Coast Redwoods District maintenance personnel for the last four years to revitalize Sumeg Village at Sue-meg State Park.  Sumeg is a reconstructed traditional Yurok village with plank houses, a sweat lodge, and a dance pit.  The village area, nearby archaeological sites, and ethnographically known geographic places of importance to the Yurok people will become part of a Traditional Cultural Property nomination to the National Register of Historic Places that is slated for completion during the next year.

Current Projects:  Currently I am involved in writing a policy for consultation between State Parks and Native California Indian people.  When this is completed, I will begin work to refine our policy on Native American gathering within the State Park system which will be done in consultation with interested individuals, groups and tribes.  Much of my time recently has been in the field of education within State Parks.  I am an instructor on Cultural Resources for the Introduction to State Parks Class that is held at Mott Training Center two or three times a year.  I have also facilitated two classes, Resource Management for Superintendents and Cultural Resources Training for our Archaeologists and Historians.  This work is very rewarding and brings me in contact with many experts both inside and outside State Parks and it is always a challenge to respond to the training needs of a diverse group of individuals with many specialties in the resource management field.

I would like to encourage young people and re-entry students with an interest in history, archaeology and the outdoors to look into career possibilities within the field of cultural resource management.  I would particularly like to see more Native California Indian people entering into this type of occupation so that they can become bridges between the bureaucracy and their tribal groups so that all interested parties can be empowered to take part in the protection, preservation, and investigation of California’s past.