For the past 15 years, research at Fort Ross State Historic Park has contributed to culture contact studies in North America by illuminating the ways in which multi-ethnic identities and colonial landscapes were negotiated at a Russian mercantilist outpost. This research expands the temporal and spatial understanding of culture contact by developing and nurturing collaborative “interactions” between archaeologists and members of the local Kashaya Pomo community. Kashaya Pomo memories and oral traditions provide insight about the past as well as groundwork for contemporary dialogues between the Kashaya Pomo, archaeologists, State Parks employees, and the public.