Activism, collaboration and public engagement in archaeology and bioarchaeology across Canada : an overview

Session Hosting Format: 
in-person session
Date/Heure: 
Samedi, mai 3, 2025 - 9:00am
(NDT)
Room: 
Queen's College 3005-3006
Organizer(s): 
  • Diane Martin-Moya, Ph.D., Invited researcher, département d'anthropologie, laboratoire de bioarchéologie humaine, Université de Montréal ; Postdoctoral fellow, département de biochimie, chimie, physique et science forensique, Laboratoire TRACE, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
  • Manek Kolhatkar, Ph.D., Independent researcher and consulting archaeologist ; Professor, Kiuna College.
Contact Email: 
manek.kolhatkar@umontreal.ca
Session Description (300 word max): 

This session seeks to evaluate the state of archaeological activism in Canada. Activism can take various forms: reshaping educational programs or heritage laws; engaging on-the-ground participation in protests; researching how today’s injustices have been shaped and left untouched by past practices; engaging with a broader public using social or traditional media outlets; developing collaborative projects and critically evaluating their outcomes; unionizing initiatives in private or academic settings; speculation as to what tomorrow could look like.

Topics can vary as well, from general concerns stemming from the capitalist and colonial structure of Canada, to the place that archaeology and bioarchaeology as practices should hold in a changing educational and socio-political climate, or to how (bio)archaeologists may engage in the day-to-day concerns of the communities that host their work.

We welcome contributions ranging from coast to coast, and from practitioners at work in archaeological and/or bioarchaeological settings. We prioritize slightly shorter papers than usual, so that more time can be devoted to increasing the workshops coverage and discussions afterwards. We consider this workshop as a step towards knitting stronger relationships between archaeological activists across Provinces and Nations, identifying their most pressing concerns, easing the sharing of knowledge and tools, and organizing at a larger scale.

Présentations
09:00 AM: What’s in a name? Challenging Colonial Nomenclature in Archaeology
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Emily  Henry - Western University
  • Ashley Piskor - Western University
  • Lisa  Hodgetts - Western University
  • Natasha  Lyons - Ursus Heritage Consulting
  • Letitia  Pokiak - Independent Scholar

While archaeology is embracing community-based and decolonizing approaches to research, colonial language still permeates many of our categorizations. Our work as settler scholars collaborating with Inuvialuit community members on the Inuvialuit Living History Project has highlighted for us that terminologies used by academics/archaeologists are not always reflective of community values. Specifically, we have encountered differences in how cultural heritage is defined and conceived, and how the relationship between archival and artifact collections is understood. Western knowledge systems deployed by archaeologists, museum professionals and archivists typically draw distinctions between tangible and intangible cultural heritage, whereas Inuvialuit knowledge systems do not. We have struggled to define ‘heritage data’ and ‘heritage data sovereignty’ in ways that encompass both the tangible and intangible. For true collaboration, the words and categories we use must reflect community knowledge and worldviews, rather than our discipline’s colonial history. Our presentation asks: how does the language we use reproduce colonial systems? How can we change the language we use in order to deconstruct colonial systems?

 
09:20 AM: Curating archaeological collections for community consultation at the University of Manitoba
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Rachel ten Bruggencate - University of Manitoba
  • Lara Rosenoff Gauvin - University of Manitoba
  • Laura Kelvin - University of Manitoba

In June 2024, the University of Manitoba adopted policy requiring all units housing Indigenous Ancestors, Burial Belongings, and cultural heritage acquired without consent to proactively engage in community-led Rematriation, Repatriation, and/or respectful care planning. This policy was developed in a working circle with the guidance of a council of Indigenous Elders, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, and Knowledge Keepers.

This policy is relevant to most of the archaeological collections housed in the UM Department of Anthropology. Many of these collections are poorly documented and improperly housed. The introduction of the RRRC policy and wise practices has shifted the focus of addressing these issues from meeting typical curatorial best practices to making collections accessible for community consultation. We will discuss how this shift has altered and improved collections management practices in the UM Department of Anthropology and lays the foundation for more ethical heritage engagement.
09:40 AM: A Collaborative Framework of Archaeological Research on the Northshore, Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Vincent Jankunis - Archaeological Survey of Alberta

Factors that must always be taken into consideration when developing the research design of an archaeological project – funding/budget, scope, field logistics, and the dissemination of findings – take on greater importance when working in collaboration with an Indigenous community. This paper discusses how these practical considerations were approached over the course of an ambitious project that saw much of the north shore of Alberta’s second largest lake surveyed. What worked, what didn’t, how the approach to archaeological research matured over three years, and what was learned from material culture left from at least 6,000 years of life on Lesser Slave Lake.
10:00 AM: Connecting Campus and Community: The Boultenhouse Shipyard Archaeological Project and the Power of Town-Gown Partnerships
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Leslie Shumka - Mount Allison University
  • Cora Woolsey - St. Thomas University
  • John Somogyi-Csizmazia - Independent Contractor

Successful community archaeology projects rely on strong, reciprocal partnerships between academic institutions and local communities—typically referred to as town-gown collaborations. These partnerships create opportunities for shared knowledge, skill development, and cultural heritage preservation while also presenting challenges related to power dynamics, differing priorities, and sustainability. This paper explores the role of town-gown partnerships in community archaeology, with specific reference to the Boultenhouse Shipyard Archaeological Project, highlighting how universities can move beyond extractive research models toward genuinely collaborative engagement. Drawing on this local initiative, this study examines the history of and best practices for fostering equitable relationships, ensuring that both academic and community stakeholders benefit from research outcomes. It also considers the role of universities in providing resources, training, and institutional support while acknowledging the expertise and agency of local communities. By analyzing both successes and obstacles, this paper argues that town-gown partnerships, when thoughtfully structured, enhance public engagement, promote heritage stewardship, and create lasting social impact. Ultimately, this research advocates for a re-imagining of the university’s role in archaeology—not as a dominant force, but as a facilitator of shared inquiry and mutual learning.
10:40 AM: And Still, Ancestors Remain out of their Graves… Reflections on Past, Present and Future Bioarchaeological Practices while Building an Indigenous Cultural Heritage Database in Quebec
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Diane Martin-Moya - Université de Montréal
  • Christine Zachary-Deom - Mohawk Council of Kahnawake
  • Gaetan Nolet - Mohawk Council of Kahnawake
  • Katsitsahente Cross-Delisle - Mohawk Council of Kahnawake
  • Manek Kolhatkar
  • Isabelle Ribot - Université de Montréal

This presentation addresses past and present bioarchaeological practices and human remains management in Quebec. It focuses on the challenges involved with the creation of a bioarchaeological database during a two-phase project initiated in 2018-2019 by the Kahnawake Mohawk Council. Its goal was to help Indigenous communities engaged in repatriation and rematriation procedures. Key information regarding human remains’ current location from the 2018 database led to a second phase in 2021. Out of a total of 345 archaeological sites, storage location could only be confirmed for 35% out of 228 Indigenous sites compared to 70% out of 77 Euro-Canadian sites. As Ancestors are the legal property of the finder and/or the landowner, this fact poses additional challenges to those wishing to initiate repatriation and rematriation claims. Years of non-Indigenous legal and scientific control created layers of colonial assessments and current populations must rely on archaeological finds to assess if they are Ancestors ‘legitimate next-of-kin.’ Scientifically Ancestors must remain stored. We show how these problems stem from Quebec’s colonial archaeological practices and legal frameworks. We draw on reciprocity-based archaeology to suggest new ways of taking care of Ancestors that respect Indigenous communities’ beliefs and that involves Indigenous communities in caring for their Ancestors.
11:00 AM: How can we bring Canadian archaeological activism further?
Format de présentation : In-Person
Auteur-e(s) :
  • Manek Kolhatkar

This presentation starts from the fact that Canadian archaeologists are politically aware of the many challenges that colonialism and capitalism pose to their practice. Various projects have flourished, and the Canadian Archaeological Association’s annual symposia have been reflecting this shift towards a more community-engaged practice in recent years. In that sense, archaeological activism is blooming in Canada. Yet, it remains nested in isolated projects and initiatives that limit its ability (i) to protect and transform the practice; (ii) to spread between archaeologists apart from expensive annual reunions so that they might learn from one another’s good fortunes and mistakes; and ultimately (iii) to drive organizing at a much-needed broader scale of action.

Here, I focus on a Quebecois initiative that set out to resolve archaeologists’ isolation within the province – even though they shared common concerns about their practice’s state in a market-driven and colonial framework. Although it was relatively short-lived (2017-2020), it managed to push important changes on the ethical and working conditions fronts. After a brief summary of its proceedings, means and scale of action, successes and mistakes, I extract a few key lessons and principles that could also help bring Canadian archaeological activism further.