At a Crossroads: Archaeology and First Peoples in Canada

The 20 papers in this volume were written by both Native and Non-Native authors, and provide both substance and food-for-thought concerning the complex interactions between archaeologists and contemporary indigenous peoples of Canada in regard to working together, interpretation of the past, ownership of the past, and the relationships between traditional knowledge and archaeological fact.

Table of Contents

Foreword - Bruce G. Trigger

Preface

Introduction
1. Indigenous Archaeology in the Post-Modern World, George P. Nicholas and Thomas D. Andrews

Part 1: Working Together
2. The Micmac and New Brunswick Archaeology: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Experiences, Helen Kristmanson
3. Cultural Interpretation in Times of Change, Kimberley L. Lawson
4. Increasing Awareness and Involvement of Aboriginal People in Heritage Preservation: Recent Developments at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, E. Leigh Syms
5. "We Can Go a Long Way Together Hand-in-Hand", Margaret Hanna
6. Education and Empowerment: Archaeology With, For, and By the Shuswap Nation, George P. Nicholas

Part 2: Traditional Knowledge and Archaeology
7. Frenchman's Island and the Nataawaau Bones: Archaeology and Cree Tales of Culture Contact, David Denton
8. Gwich'in Traditional Knowledge and Heritage Studies in the Gwich'in Settlement Area, Ingrid D. Kritsch and Alestine M. Andre
9. Traditional Knowledge in Site Recognition and Definition, Sheila C. Greer
10. The Idaa Trail.- Archaeology and the Dogrib Cultural Landscape, Northwest Territories, Thomas D. Andrews and John B. Zoe
11. Ancient Knowledge of Ancient Sites: Tracing Dene Identity from the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, Christopher C. Hanks
12. Remembering 10,000 Years of History: The Origins and Migrations of the Gitksan, Heather Harris
13. The Arviaq and Qikiqtaarjuk Oral History Project, Lyle Henderson

Part 3: Curation, Presentation, and Ownership of the Past
14. The Sddlnewhala Bowl: Cooperation or Compromise?, Barbara Winter and Diana Henry
15. Archaeological Native Internships at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, E. Leigh Syms
16. Presenting Indigenous History: The First Peoples' Hall at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Robert McGhee
17. Native Claims and the Future of Archaeological Research in the Northwest Territories, Thomas D. Andrews, Charles Arnold, Elisa J. Hart, and Margaret M. Bertulli
18. The Ittamisalirijiit Conference on Inuit Archaeology, Deborah Kigjugalik Webster and John Bennett
19. Archaeology and the Sechelt Indian Self-Government Act, Eldon Yellowhorn
20. Cultural Property and the Question of Underlying Title, Michael Asch
21. Native People and Archaeology, Ethel Blondin-Andrew

Afterword
22. On the Edge, George P. Nicholas and Thomas D. Andrews

Contributors

Index

REVIEW [Originally published in Australian Archaeology 49:71]

As the start of a new millennium forces us to review everything from the preamble of the past to the nature of society in the future we reach a major crossroads. This crossroads has long been evident in Australian Archaeology with lots of relationship bumps and potholes in recent years threatening to spoil certain journeys into the past. However, as the result of much introspection, discussion, debate and navel gazing, we are beginning to work out more satisfactory ways of conducting investigations into the past that benefit both Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders. Canadians are particularly good at navel gazing; some might argue it is a national pastime. As a consequence, Canadians are continually redefining their relationships to each other, to the past and to the present. A most recent example pertinent to Australian Archaeologists is At a crossroads: archaeology and First Peoples in Canada, edited by George P. Nicholas and Thomas D. Andrews.

Besides lots of interesting case studies (and some of the results really are both fascinating and remarkable), there are particular papers on presenting Indigenous history in museums, land claims, title to cultural property, the need for education and the antiquity of traditional forms of knowledge. The relevance, validity and importance of oral history for archaeological interpretation is a theme found throughout the individual papers. The book is very positive in approach, the editors conceding they avoided the 'dark side' of archaeological-Aboriginal relations.

I highly recommend the book for those interested in exploring new ways of archaeologists and Indigenous peoples working together. I also recommend it be compulsory reading for Honours students and graduates as the examples, case studies and more general reflective essays will be of immense value for those embarking on an archaeological career in the Australia of the third millennium. It's always insightful to see how others handle similar problems to those we face when studying another people's past.

Reviewed by Paul S.C. Taçon

A full review can be found HERE

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