The University of Western Ontario

Alumnus, Anthropology

About

My research aims to create a biography of the landscape of southwestern Ontario. This biography will be multi-vocal in nature as I will draw upon archaeological data and will collaborate with First Nations groups gathering oral traditions and place names; together, the data will provide us with a better understanding of how Ontario’s landscape was both physically and socially connected through time. My focus will examine major transportation and exchange routes, including but not limited to, canoe routes, portages, and trails used by First Nations groups during both historic and pre-contact times. The combination of using both place name data and archaeological methods is complimentary, as either in isolation can be viewed as 'disconnected remnants of heritage' whereas together, they can be seen as parts in a larger cultural system (Tobias 2000: 23).
My proposed biography will provide a phenomenological meaning and context to the archaeological histories of south western Ontario, one that creates relevance beyond archaeology by allowing First Nations communities to “visualize” their past as connected to place and the material record. More broadly, the relevance for all Ontarians is the connection of commonly understood features of landscape to a heritage that is both inclusive and meaningful to all pasts experienced in this place.
The collaborative nature of this project will aid in the development of new methodologies and epistemologies that will ultimately make archaeology more than simply the output of intellectual inquiry. This research will allow First Nations people to see the strengths of traditional knowledge and community heritage integrated and recognized as broadly significant.