About. |
Our Mission
The Kru (Krao/Klao) Coast Heritage Initiative aims to understand, document, record, analyze, and share the history of the Kru (Krao/Klao) people starting in Sinoe County, Republic of Liberia, West Africa.
Our GoalsOur goals are to increase global awareness of this history, work with communities to document, preserve, and interpret local history, and pioneer archaeological studies of the Kru Coast region of West Africa, specifically southeastern Liberia, Sinoe County in particular.
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Our MethodsWe do this through rigorous academic study, including archival research, recording oral history from elders, investigating archaeological sites and studying objects that were used by past peoples, and discussing this history and archaeology with experts and interested people around the world.
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Our Team
Prince Kondeh
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Megan Crutcher
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Christopher Jah
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Our StoryThe Kru/Krao Coast Heritage Initiative was born out of a chance meeting and a shared passion for silenced histories. Our team, brought together by a common vision, includes researchers, citizens, community leaders, scholars, and activists committed to understanding and preserving Kru cultural heritage in Sinoe County.
Our journey began when Megan met Prince and Chris in June 2023 in Greenville, Liberia through mutual acquaintances. We only spent about a week together before that first visit was over, but in that week we connected with our founding board of elders and interviewed several elderly historians. Through our combined efforts on both sides of the Atlantic, we forged connections that transcended disciplinary boundaries, educational levels, and geographical distances. It was during these long-distance discussions that the seeds of our initiative were planted through a WhatsApp message that read: "our archaeology, our coast, our heritage." As our conversations deepened, we recognized a glaring gap in maritime historical scholarship and representation of Liberian and Kru history: the absence of Indigenous voices in the narrative and the absence of archaeological study in Sinoe County. We also recognized the immense potential to create a really transformative project in the region, especially in historical education. The story of the Kru (Krao/Klao) has most often been told using European and American documents as the primary source material. Motivated by a desire to change this, we employ innovative interdisciplinary approaches in historical archaeology, looking at settlement patterns, trade routes and markets, and land use over time. Through archaeology and oral history, we aim not only to change, challenge, and add to the documentary record but to answer research questions that cannot otherwise be answered. By privileging Indigenous Liberian perspectives, we bridge academic and community interests to build heritage preservation capacities in Sinoe County. Together we hope to honor and amplify the voices of Indigenous Kru historians to tell these stories in their own words. |