Ph.D. candidate in Archaeology, Simon Fraser University
Research key words:
Cultural landscapes, indigenous archaeology and traditional knowledge, applied archaeology, legislation and policy, rock art, Northern Plains and Interior Plateau regions, proto-contact and contact period. IPinCH Fellowship Research:The goal of my IPinCH fellowship is to contribute to the Mookaakin case study from the perspective of archaeology, place and landscape. By applying the evaluation of Traditional Use Study (TUS) practices “on the ground,” I hope to explore approaches that increase Kainai authority over significant places and landscapes and ultimately improve government management practices.
Ph.D. Research: My proposed Ph.D. research will address the implications of indigenous archaeology and cultural landscapes for applied archaeological theory, method and practice. I intend to build on recent theoretical advances in anthropological, archaeological, and indigenous approaches to cultural landscapes and community-based heritage stewardship. I will review the epistemological and ontological issues arising from the conflict between Aboriginal perspectives and "cultural resource management", and describe the role and practice of indigenous archaeology based on case studies in two Aboriginal communities in the Interior Plateau of B.C. Lastly, I hope to explore alternative approaches to heritage stewardship from the perspective of cultural landscapes.
Master's Thesis: Icons of Power, Narratives of Glory: Ethnic Continuity and Cultural Change in the Contact Period Rock Art of Writing-On-Stone, Alberta (1995). Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough ON.
Selected Publications:
2009. Klassen, M. A., R. Budhwa and R. Reimer/Yumks. First Nations, Forestry, and the Transformation of Archaeological Practice in British Columbia, Canada. Heritage Management 2(2): 199-238.
2008. Klassen, M. A. First Nations, the Heritage Conservation Act, and the Ethics of Heritage Stewardship. The Midden 40(4):8-17.
2008. Klassen, M. A. Aboriginal and Archaeological Perspectives on Conservation and Stewardship: Examples from the Plains and Plateau. In Preserving Aboriginal Heritage: Technical and Traditional Approaches: Proceedings of Symposium 2007, edited by C. Dignard, K. Helwig, J. Mason, K. Nanowin and T. Stone, pp. 325-332. Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, Ontario.
2005. Klassen, M. A. Converging Perceptions: Áísínai'pi (Writing-On-Stone) in popular, anthropological, and traditional thought. In Picturing the American Past. L. Loendorf, C. Chippindale and D. S. Whitley, eds. pp. 15–50. University of Arizona Press: Tucson.
2003. Klassen, M. A. Spirit images, medicine rocks: The rock art of Alberta. In Archaeology in Alberta: A View from the New Millennium. Archaeological Society of Alberta: Lethbridge AB.
2001. Keyser, James D., and Michael A. Klassen. Plains Indian Rock Art. University of Washington Press: Seattle.
2000. Klassen, Michael A., James D. Keyser, and Lawrence L. Loendorf. Bird Rattle's petroglyphs at Writing-On-Stone: Continuity in the Biographic rock art tradition. Plains Anthropologist 45(172): 189–201.
1998. Klassen, M. A. Icon and narrative in contact transition rock art at Writing-On-Stone, southern Alberta, Canada. In The Archaeology of Rock-Art, P.S.C. Taçon and C. Chippindale, editors. University of Cambridge Press: Cambridge UK.
