OAS

President's Message

July/August 2009
(as published in Arch Notes New Series 14(4))

Recent Passings

Recently, I received the news of the passing of Ken Dawson on June 24th. Ken was a true pioneer in the archaeology of the northern part of Ontario. His work was not limited to high-yielding or “glamorous” sites. Instead, he went deep into the bush and worked on subjects that down deep, he knew, the audience was quite small. Yet he persevered. He played an important role in setting up an anthropology programme at Lakehead University and most importantly, he stimulated younger archaeologists to follow in his footsteps. This does not mean that they will do like him, but like the lone voice in the wilderness, he spoke of the potential of the region to enlighten us about the ways in which this portion of the boreal forest was turned into a homeland, so that we may better appreciate the accomplishments of the ancestors of those who inherited a sizeable portion of one of the largest physiographic regions of North America.

Events like these should cause us to pause and contemplate in many respects our own place in the world and what we will leave behind. How important is archaeology really? Who does it really matter to? Answers might be found in the ways that the publications of such investigators continue to be consulted and quoted by future generations of scholars and investigators. By the end of this August, the Canadian Museum of Civilization will be releasing a festschrift of 25 contributions, more than 760 pages, to honour the late James V. Wright. Many more would have wanted to contribute. Many more would have wanted to carry out some original research with an eye to tipping their hats to the late J.V. His legacy is so much more than his printed output.

In Thunder Bay last spring, a daylong session of papers was put together to honour Ken Dawson. The conference organizers, especially Bill Ross and Scott Hamilton are to be congratulated that such an honour could take place while Ken could be with us to witness an important outcome of his work. I sincerely hope that at some point during the conference, he had a moment to think to himself that he had marked a generation of young mind and challenged them to go and do better.

This passing generation of archaeologists have left us much. When they were active, the field was just beginning to come into its own. They had drive, energy and endless problems to tackle, and they did so with great gusto. What will our legacies be? Certainly the times in which archaeology is practised today is like day and night from the heyday of the Watsons, Nobles, Wrights and Dawsons (to name but the most recent who have left us; there are many, many more). Research archaeology is now but a small fraction of the archaeology being undertaken today. The vast majority takes place under the guise of "Cultural Resource Management".

There is Still Time to be Heard – S&Gs

With the release of the 2009 Draft Standards and Guidelines, consulting archaeology in Ontario is set to undergo a new phase where expectations and results will be much more predictable and transparent, especially to the non-specialists. The new S&Gs may seem tedious and needlessly time-consuming to the professional, but it is tremendously important for the general public and those paying for the work to really understand the process and the results and to see consistency across the province as well as from one archaeologist to the next.

What role will we (all OAS members) collectively play in seeing that the correct balance is struck between the needs of the industry, the discipline, the public, the proponents and the past? There is still time to be heard. If you have been participating in the APA/OAS regional meetings, great! If not, you can still review the documents (the Draft Standards and Guidelines as well as the Technical Bulletins-go to the OAS website for links to these and meetings in your area) and send in your comments to the OAS (Neal Ferris is coordinating OAS member comments for presentation to the Ministry of Culture).

Technical Bulletin: Engaging Aboriginal Communities in Archaeology

An important part of the overall package relating to the 2009 Draft Standards and Guidelines for Consulting Archaeologists that the Ministry of Culture released last spring is the Technical Bulletin: Engaging Aboriginal Communities in Archaeology. This document, written for consulting archaeologists, describes the manner by which First Nations communities should be consulted. Indeed, throughout the S&Gs document, the consulting archaeologists are instructed/reminded of the need for such consultation. In this respect, I was reminded of the Protocol that the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan shared with the OAS at the annual symposium held a few years ago in Midland. That document was a clear expression of their vision of archaeology within their traditional territory. How well does the Technical Bulletin mesh with the Protocol? How widely shared is the Algonquin vision of archaeology? All important questions given the directions that the S&Gs are intended to provide to consulting archaeologists.

As such, the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan, a long-time OAS corporate member, have accepted to take the lead on behalf of the OAS in compiling opinions from OAS members and others interested by the Technical Bulletin. Your thoughts, reactions, suggestions about this document are very important in order to complement and round out the overall commentary on the proposed S&Gs even though they are not part of the S&Gs per se. Therefore, I encourage you to review this document and send your comments to Ron Bernard, President or Aimee Bailey, Executive Director, Omŕmiwinini Pimŕdjwowin, 1674 Mishomis Inamo, Pikwakanagan, Golden Lake, Ontario, K0J 1X0 or my email to info@thealgonquinway.ca.

The OAS at Queen’s Park

Last spring, Lorie Harris contacted Ms. Amber Bondy who coordinates community exhibitions in the foyer of the Ontario Legislature. She then applied for space in which to create an exhibition about the OAS and was then invited to fill one such display case. This is a great opportunity to come under the eyes of the lawmakers of Ontario at the very place where they work. The exposure could prove to be very important for increasing the profile of the OAS among MPPs. Let’s hope that their curiosity might be piqued and that some may wish to find out more. Oh, to have champions of archaeology within Queen’s Park. Well done Lorie! And so, you are all invited to drop by Queen’s Park and to view the modest, but hopefully, effective display flaunting the existence of the Ontario Archaeological Society as of the beginning of October.

Jean-Luc Pilon