- Kim Cloutier, Heritage Conservation Branch – Government of Saskatchewan
- Denise Huynh, Department of Anthropology – University of Saskatchewan
European trade goods began appearing in Saskatchewan by the mid 1500s via Indigenous trade networks. By the mid 1700s European traders had established a permanent presence in the west, which is considered the start of the Historic Period in Saskatchewan. By the late 19th century, the human and natural landscape in Saskatchewan had changed dramatically. The near extinction of the bison by the 1870s and the subsequent treaties forever altered the lifestyles of Indigenous and Métis peoples. Government policies and land surveys changed the prairie landscape as settlers began taking up homesteads, with industrial development and urban development accompanying European-focused settlement.
Much of the early research into historic period archaeology in Saskatchewan focused on fur trade posts and notable military places or events such as North-West Mounted Police posts and the Northwest Resistance. Over the decades historic period archaeological research has expanded to include the stories of Indigenous and Métis peoples’ experiences during this period and their adaptation to the influx of missionaries, settlers and material goods, as well as the stories of the settlers of various backgrounds – Ukrainian, French, Russian, English, African American, Finnish, Mennonite, Doukhobor and others – who arrived to seek a new life and helped to shape the communities and urban centres in which they lived.
This session is dedicated to Dr. Margaret Kennedy who inspired a generation of archaeologists to learn about and research the changing prairie landscape and the historic period during her tenure in the Archaeology department at the University of Saskatchewan where she was on faculty for 25 years until her retirement in 2018. Many of her students have remained in the heritage sector and have found roles as consultants, academics, and regulators.