President's Messages

President’s Spring Message - May 2025

Happy Spring Everyone!

As we prepare to undertake a busy summer ahead, I want to share a few thoughts and some news. I have to begin with the terrific success of the Annual Meeting in St. John’s. Simply put, we had a great time! A tremendous range of papers, productive discussions and planning, and great opportunities for gathering and socializing. We were so well taken care of in full Newfoundland fashion. Congratulations once again to Lisa Rankin and her team.

The conference gathering in Canmore for 2026 is well underway. Watch for updates in the coming months. Please note, we are actively seeking a team to lead the CAA Annual Meeting in 2027. I welcome you to connect with the Board if you are interested. If you participated in the AGM in St. John’s, you heard several recommendations to make conference planning better. We are here to help and we continue to work on tools to assist.

President’s Fall Message 2024

Hello Friends,

It's time once again for the Fall Message and the sharing of news since we last gathered at the annual meeting in May. I want to begin by expressing again, congratulations to the Saskatoon Conference Chair, Tomasin Playford, and conference team for an extraordinary gathering. Delegate attendance (383) and participation was enthusiastic. The sessions were informative and timely. Indigenous archaeology and sovereignty, Black and racialized archaeology, climate change impacts, technology, collections, CRM industry challenges and well-being were all top of mind. It will be interesting to see planning and actions going forward. We all enjoyed seeing folks and having face to face conversations about archaeological work. Thank you Saskatoon!

President’s Message Fall/Winter 2023

Seasons Greetings,

Hope this message finds everyone well at this busy time. With the New Year on the horizon, we are already thinking about our annual conference in Saskatoon in 2024. Arrangements are quickly coming together thanks to the planning team at the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society. Following the holidays watch our website and social media for information and announcements. As this will be a hybrid conference, here is an early reminder that if you are planning to attend virtually the conference organizers will require a pre-recorded presentation in advance.

President's Message Spring/Summer 2023

Spring has finally turned to summer and many of us are taking advantage of the long-awaited good weather to get some field work done. Depending on where we are geographically located, some of our plans are likely to have been altered by forest fires that continue to ravage many parts of the country, bringing devastation to those in the affected areas. The well-being and safety of our fellow citizens is paramount and our thoughts are with all those who have been personally impacted. When the fires are extinguished and the ash settles, our members will begin to assess the damage these forest fires may have caused to our archaeological heritage and how we may draw on our collective energies and expertise to address the destruction.

President’s Message – Fall 2022

Greetings from Prince Edward Island where the morning frost has finally arrived to remind us that winter is on its way. It’s hard to believe it’s December as we turn our minds to the post-fieldwork duties that keep us occupied until spring. Since I last wrote, the Board has met frequently and much has been underway. A note of thanks to all Board members for graciously making the time to bring your knowledge and experience to our work. Thanks also to the committees and working groups for their contribution. So far I have had the pleasure of meeting with some of you individually and I look forward to a full gathering of committee chairs in the coming weeks.

President’s Message – Spring/Summer 2022

For the past two years Lisa Hodgetts has led an outstanding team and I’d like to begin my tenure with a big thanks to Lisa and the Board, not to mention the committees, working groups, and all other associates, for their dedication, hard work, support, and guidance. As this team has shown, no-one whistles a symphony and I look forward to working with all of you over the next couple of years.

President’s Message – Fall/Winter 2021

I hope this message finds you all well and looking forward to a restful holiday season, even if it will be quieter than originally planned.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s patience, flexibility and resilience. Omicron is going to demand those things of us again as we move into 2022 and I wish you all strength and hope as we continue to navigate these uncertain times. The virus has also highlighted many inequities in our society and provided a space for reflection on the way we practice archaeology in Canada, and how we might begin to make our discipline more diverse and equitable. I’d like to share some updates about our work along these lines, and other CAA news. The board and our committees have been very busy behind the scenes and I’m so grateful to our many wonderful volunteers who keep these initiatives moving forward.

President’s Message – Summer 2021

The past few months have been busy ones for the CAA. Our virtual conference was followed quickly by the news from Te’kemlups te Secwepemc First Nation of the identification of unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The CAA rapidly created a Working Group on Unmarked Graves, which brings together archaeologists from across the country who have experience in remote sensing and in working with Indigenous communities to help them find their missing children. The working group, chaired by Kisha Supernant, is developing informational resources to help communities make informed decisions about whether and how they wish to proceed with investigations. The first of these are posted on our website, with more on the way. My thanks to everyone on the working group for their commitment to this difficult, but important work.

Read on for a long overdue update on other CAA activities. We are seeking volunteers to fill a number of important roles - see the bottom of this message for ways to become involved.

President’s Message – Fall 2020

When I last wrote, Canada was beginning to emerge from lockdown and we were heading into an uncertain summer. That uncertainty is still with us as we now watch the COVID-19 case counts climb rapidly in many parts of Canada. Many of us continue to experience major disruptions in our professional and personal lives. As an association, we are mindful of these demands and recognize that under the circumstances many of our volunteers have little time to devote to CAA activities. The Board of Directors has therefore decided to pause our strategic planning efforts and focus on a few key priorities over the winter, as outlined below.

President’s Message Spring 2020

This spring has brought change and challenges for all of us. It has also brought great kindness and community spirit as we navigate the many uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. As I step into the role of CAA president, I’m inspired by the resilience, flexibility and creativity of our members.

Conference and AGM. A few weeks ago, instead of meeting in Edmonton, we held the CAA’s first ever virtual AGM. It was nice to see so many faces (including some pets!) from across the country. Many thanks to the Edmonton organizing committee for putting together what was shaping up to be an amazing conference. We hope it will be able to go ahead next spring. In the interim, we are exploring ways to offer a few of the planned workshops online.

President's Messages

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