The Rising Tide: Centering Student Voices in an Era of Change (Short-Session)

Session Hosting Format: 
pre-recorded session
Date/Heure: 
Jeudi, avril 28, 2022 - 10:40am - 12:00pm
(CST)
Room: 
Online
Organizer(s): 
  • The CAA Student Committee
Contact Email: 
caa.students@gmail.com
Session Description (300 word max): 

Navigating a sea of unprecedented change (whether that be environmental, social, or political), more and more archaeologists are called upon to provide commentary on our current situation. Although often overlooked, students are the researchers, early professionals, and fiery commenters that these changes affect greatly and who are needed to drive considerable changes. This session hopes to center the voices of students and early-career researchers so that they can dip their toes into professional conference settings, gain experience presenting, and provide a platform for a new current of thinking. Presenting at a conference for the first time can be scary, and we are driven to make everyone feel included and that sharing your ideas is not a "sink or swim" experience. To increase accessibility, this session will comprise shortened talks of student work. Presentations for this session can involve creative ideas about how to address change, the results of any recent research project (in general), scientifically-grounded debates, a story from the field, a book review, or a research proposal- the only catch is your presentation must be given in only 5 minutes! "Surf's up!"

The presentations will be given synchronously using a hybrid format to provide an authentic experience of in-person talk but also accommodate those who may not be comfortable with the ongoing health crisis. Presentations will be grouped based on similarity in topic matter, so please provide a general description of the topic you will be discussing, in no more than 250 words, and submit it to the Abstract Submission Form of the CAA website. Visual components for presentations from accepted presenters will be limited to only 1-3 slides and will be requested prior to the presentation date to allow for compilation and smooth transition between presentations. A synchronous question-and-answer period will be offered at the end of the session. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to caa.students@gmail.com. We look forward to your submission and hearing your valuable perspectives and insights!

Présentations
10:40 AM: Trowel and Error: A podcast exploring career paths in Canadian archaeology
Format de présentation : Online - pre-recorded
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Isabelle Rutherford - Western University
  • Sydney Holland - Western University

Trowel and Error is a podcast created as a resource for students planning their career in archaeology. Our intention was to highlight the often under-discussed variability in archaeology-related career paths. We conducted a series of semi-structured interviews (n=8) with Canadian professionals currently engaging with archaeology in public and/or private sectors. We asked questions about career shifts and setbacks, sought advice for prospective archaeologists, and discussed stories from the field. Themes that emerged from these conversations included: navigating challenges during career transitions, the winding paths to success and stability, cultivating one’s passions, and the ongoing shifts towards collaborative, inclusive archaeological practices. Our goal is to provide these conversations on a free-to-use platform in both written and audio formats, so that Trowel and Error may be accessible to a broad audience, including those with different learning styles and at various stages in their careers. This ongoing project contributes to the growing body of publicly available information about archaeological practices in Canada and engages with an increasingly popular method of disseminating information. This work has the potential to inspire current students to engage with archaeology in creative and diverse ways, thus expanding what it means to be an archaeologist in Canada.

11:00 AM: Excavating Identity: reconciling bioarchaeology with my Indigeneity
Format de présentation : Online - pre-recorded
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Lauren Poeta - Western University

Boozhoo. Waabaabagaakwe n’dizhnikaas. Ajiik dodem niinda’aw. Wiikwemkoong n’doonjibaa. This is my story, that of an Indigenous scholar in bioarchaeology. Masking my Indigenous identity behind my white-passing body was long my strategy for surviving university, a strategy taught to many Indigenous relatives to navigate colonial spaces. While universities are adopting new “strategic plans” for Indigenous initiatives, these changes often homogenize the experiences of individual Indigenous students. Through my time navigating academic and professional spaces as an early career researcher, I have had varied experiences on the larger path to “unsettling” academe and archaeology.

Growing a supportive, family-like community while in graduate school allows me to merge my worlds to become the Indigenous scholar I already was. The two drivers of this transition were seeing other Indigenous scholars in my discipline and facing my intergenerational trauma in professional spaces during the residential school searches of 2021. This account of my experiences of forced emotional labour, paternalism, and tokenism explores how these moments could have been prevented. It is my hope that when I share my Truth, it will help others reflect on their own experiences of marginalization and/or complacency.

11:20 AM: The ChronoMB Project: Mapping the Distribution of Pre-Contact Archaeological Sites and Landscape Use in Manitoba
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Brandi Cable

Manitoba has a rich and diverse culture history and an extensive archaeological record, however, the record itself is under-studied and would benefit from further research. The ChronoMB project aims to synthesize Manitoba's archaeological record using data from the Canadian Archaeological Radiocarbon Database (CARD) to map out these dates across the province using ArcGIS. Out of the 363 Manitoba dates in CARD, only 256 of those are pre-contact and have an associated culture history. The early stages of the project involved data cleaning and mapping; the next steps will survey collections within the province to provide additional data for CARD.

Outreach and dissemination are also crucial components of the ChronoMB project. As a founder of this project, and an Indigenous woman from northern Manitoba, it is important to me to make this research accessible to Indigenous communities, particularly Indigenous youth. This research will be disseminated in various formats, such as talks, posters, and social media, and will be translated into multiple Indigenous languages. I will incorporate the Cree language into my CAA talk to reflect the "Where Communities Meet" theme of the 2022 conference. 
11:40 AM: Examining Methods of Mandible Detachment and Tongue Removal at the Fincastle Site
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Samantha Kondor - University of Lethbridge

The subject of my master's research focused on identifying specific element frequency patterns in the Fincastle bison assemblage; a mass bison kill site located in Southern Alberta. The Fincastle bison assemblage contains approximately 11,000 identifiable elements, with the full extent of the site not determined. The assemblage is unique because of the paucity of cranial elements, with no complete skulls uncovered. My research investigated frequency patterns in the assemblage to connect particular portions to cultural activity. Specifically, the process of cranial separation, mandible detachment, and tongue removal were investigated based on skull element portion and frequency. These activities have been described in the archaeological and historical literature with differing accounts. The focus of this research was to provide an anatomically and osteologically grounded analysis to interpret the patterns in the assemblage. The results indicate support for the historically documented method of tongue removal and a purposeful mandible detachment strategy. The mandible detachment strategy is used to infer cranial separation, coupled with the lack of cranial elements, but further investigation is required to confirm this hypothesis.