Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T13:58:58.672Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Integrating Remote Sensing and Indigenous Archaeology to Locate Unmarked Graves

A Case Study from Northern Alberta, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2021

William T. D. Wadsworth Open the ORCID record for William T. D. Wadsworth [Opens in a new window] ,
Kisha Supernant ,
Ave Dersch  and
the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation
William T. D. Wadsworth*
Affiliation:
Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology, Department of Anthropology, 13-15 Tory Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H4, Canada
Kisha Supernant
Affiliation:
Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology, Department of Anthropology, 13-15 Tory Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H4, Canada
Ave Dersch
Affiliation:
Moccasin Flower Consulting Inc., Box 134, Slave Lake, Alberta, T0G 2A0, Canada
the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation
Affiliation:
General Delivery Chard, Alberta, T0P 1G0, Canada
*
(wwadswor@ualberta.ca, corresponding author)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Archaeologists have long been called on to use geophysical techniques to locate unmarked graves in both archaeological and forensic contexts. Although these techniques—primarily ground-penetrating radar (GPR)—have demonstrated efficacy in this application, there are fewer examples of studies driven by Indigenous community needs. In North America, the location of ancestors and burial grounds is a priority for most Indigenous communities. We argue that when these Indigenous voices are equitably included in research design, the practice of remote sensing changes and more meaningful collaborations ensue. Drawing on Indigenous archaeology and heart-centered practices, we argue that remote-sensing survey methodologies, and the subsequent narratives produced, need to change. These approaches change both researchers’ and Indigenous communities’ relationships to the work and allow for the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) in interpretation. In this article, we discuss this underexplored research trajectory, explain how it relates to modern GPR surveys for unmarked graves, and present the results from a survey conducted at the request of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation. Although local in nature, we discuss potential benefits and challenges of Indigenous remote sensing collaborations, and we engage larger conversations happening in Indigenous communities around the ways these methods can contribute to reconciliation and decolonization.

Les archéologues ont longtemps été appelés à utiliser des techniques géophysiques pour localiser des sépultures non marquées dans des contextes archéologiques et médico-légaux. Bien que l'efficacité de ces techniques, comme le géoradar (GPR) ait été démontrée, les exemples d'application de techniques géophysiques pour répondre aux besoins des communautés autochtones sont plus rares. En Amérique du Nord, le lieu de repos d'ancêtres et les lieux de sépulture sont une priorité pour la plupart des communautés autochtones. Nous affirmons que lorsque les voix autochtones sont incluses de manière équitable dans la conception d'un projet de recherche, l'usage et l'expérience de la télédétection changent et des collaborations plus significatives s'ensuivent. En nous inspirant de l'archéologie autochtone (Indigenous archaeology) et des pratiques centrées sur le cœur (heart-centered practices) nous affirmons que la pratique de la télédétection ainsi que les interprétations qui en résultent doivent changer. Ces approches modifient le rapport qu'entretiennent les chercheurs et les communautés autochtones avec la recherche et permettent l'intégration des savoirs autochtones dans les interprétations (Indigenous Knowledge). Dans cet article, nous discutons du potentiel de cette approche, de son lien avec les relevés GPR modernes pour les sépultures non marquées, et présentons les résultats d'une enquête menée à la demande de la Première Nation Chipewyan Prairie (Chipewyan Prairie First Nation). Bien qu'une enquête de nature locale, nous discutons des avantages et des défis potentiels de projets de collaboration avec les autochtones utilisant la télédétection, et nous engageons les conversations plus étendues des communautés autochtones sur la façon dont ces méthodes peuvent contribuer à la réconciliation et à la décolonisation.

Keywords

Indigenous archaeologyGPRremote sensingcommunity-drivencollaborationdecolonizationunmarked gravesDeneAlbertaCanadaarchéologie autochtonegéoradartélédétectionarchéologie communautairecollaborationdécolonisationsépultures non marquéesDénésAlbertaCanada
Type
Article
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 9 , Special Issue 3: NDN Communities and Remote Sensing Techniques , August 2021 , pp. 202 - 214
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for American Archaeology

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES CITED

Atalay, Sonya 2006 Indigenous Archaeology as Decolonizing Practice. American Indian Quarterly 30:280–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atalay, Sonya 2012 Community-Based Archaeology: Research with, by, and for Indigenous and Local Communities. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Colwell, Chip 2016 Collaborative Archaeologies and Descendant Communities. Annual Review of Anthropology 45:113–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colwell-Chanthaphonh, Chip, and Ferguson, T. J. 2008 Introduction: The Collaborative Continuum. In Collaboration in Archaeological Practice: Engaging Descendant Communities, edited by Colwell-Chanthaphonh, Chip and Ferguson, T. J., pp. 1–34. AltaMira Press, Lanham, Maryland.Google Scholar
Conly, F. M., Crosley, R. W., and Headley, J. V. 2002 Characterizing Sediment Sources and Natural Hydrocarbon Inputs in the Lower Athabasca River, Canada. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science 1:187–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conyers, Lawrence B. 2010 Ground-Penetrating Radar for Anthropological Research. Antiquity 84:175–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conyers, Lawrence B. 2012 Interpreting Ground-Penetrating Radar for Archaeology. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California.Google Scholar
Conyers, Lawrence B. 2013 Ground-Penetrating Radar for Archaeology. 3rd ed. AltaMira Press, Lanham, Maryland.Google Scholar
Daschuk, James 2013 Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life. University of Regina Press, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.Google Scholar
Ferguson, T. J., Koyiyumptewa, Stewart B., and Hopkins, Maren P. 2015 Co-Creation of Knowledge by the Hopi Tribe and Archaeologists. Advances in Archaeological Practice 3:249–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaffney, Christopher, Chad Harris, Finnegan Pope-Carter, James Bonsall, Robert Fry, and Andrew Parkyn, 2015 Still Searching for Graves: An Analytical Strategy for Interpreting Geophysical Data Used in the Search for “Unmarked” Graves. Near Surface Geophysics 13:557–569.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gonzalez, Sara L. 2016 Indigenous Values and Methods in Archaeological Practice: Low-Impact Archaeology through the Kashaya Pomo Interpretive Trail Project. American Antiquity 81:533–549.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, Dean, and Piro, Salvatore 2013 GPR Remote Sensing in Archaeology. Springer, Berlin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henry, Edward R. 2011 A Multistage Geophysical Approach to Detecting and Interpreting Archaeological Features at the LeBus Circle, Bourbon County, Kentucky. Archaeological Prospection 18:231–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henry, Edward R., Laracuente, Nicholas R., Case, Jared S., and Johnson, Jay K. 2014 Incorporating Multistaged Geophysical Data into Regional-Scale Models: A Case Study from an Adena Burial Mound in Central Kentucky. Archaeological Prospection 21:15–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henry, Edward R., Mink, Philip B. II, and W, Stephen McBride, 2017 Anthropologically Focused Geophysical Surveys and Public Archaeology Day Agents in Placemaking. In Archaeological Remote Sensing in North America: Innovative Techniques for Anthropological Applications, edited by McKinnon, Duncan P. and Haley, Bryan S., pp. 153–168. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Horsley, Timothy, Wright, Alice, and Barrier, Casey 2014 Prospecting for New Questions: Integrating Geophysics to Define Anthropological Research Objectives and Inform Excavation Strategies at Monumental Sites. Archaeological Prospection 21:75–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jarvenpa, Robert 1980 Trappers of Patuanak: Toward a Spatial Ecology of Modern Hunters. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Jay K., and Haley, Bryan S. 2006 A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Remote Sensing Application in Cultural Resource Management Archaeology. In Remote Sensing in Archaeology: An Explicitly North American Perspective, edited by Johnson, Jay K., pp. 33–46. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Kimmerer, Robin Wall 2013 Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions, Minneapolis, Minnesota.Google Scholar
Kvamme, Kenneth L. 2003 Geophysical Surveys as Landscape Archaeology. American Antiquity 68:435–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landry, David B., Ferguson, Ian J., Milne, Brooke, Serzu, Mulu, and Park, Robert W. 2019 Integrated Geophysical Techniques for the Archaeological Investigation of LbDt-1, a Paleo-Inuit Lithic Quarry Site in the Interior of Southern Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 26:185–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyons, Natasha 2013 Where the Wind Blows Us: Practicing Critical Community Archaeology in the Canadian North. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Martindale, Andrew 2014 Archaeology Taken to Court: Unravelling the Epistemology of Cultural Tradition in the Context of Aboriginal Title Cases. In Rethinking Colonial Pasts through Archaeology, edited by Ferris, Neal, Harrison, Rodney, and Wilcox, Michael V., pp. 397–422. Oxford University Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinez, Desireé R. 2014 Indigenous Archaeologies. In Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, edited by Smith, Claire, pp. 3772–3777. Springer, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKinnon, Duncan P., and Haley, Bryan S. 2017 Archaeological Remote Sensing in North America: Innovative Techniques for Anthropological Applications. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.Google Scholar
Moorman, Brian J. 2003 Delineation of the “Old” Graveyard at Fort Providence, Northwest Territories. Technical report on file, Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada.Google Scholar
Nicholas, George P. 2008 Native Peoples and Archaeology. In Encyclopedia of Archaeology, Vol. 3, edited by Pearsall, Deborah M., pp. 1660–1669. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicholas, George P., and Andrews, Thomas D. 1997 Indigenous Archaeology in the Postmodern World. In At a Crossroads: Archaeology and First Peoples in Canada, edited by Nicholas, George P. and Andrews, Thomas D., pp. 1–18. Simon Fraser University Press, Burnaby, British Columbia.Google Scholar
Nicholas, George P., and Markey, Nola 2015 Traditional Knowledge, Archaeological Evidence and Other Ways of Knowing. In Material Evidence: Learning from Archaeological Practice, edited by Chapman, Robert and Wylie, Alison, pp. 287–307. Routledge, New York.Google Scholar
Province of Alberta 2013 Historical Resources Act: Archaeological and Palaeontological Research Permit Regulation. Alberta Queen's Printer, Edmonton.Google Scholar
Province of British Columbia 1998 Archaeological Impact Assessment Guidelines. Government of British Columbia-Archaeology Branch, Victoria.Google Scholar
Raygorodetsky, Gleb, and Chetkiewicz, Cheryl 2017 Watching, Listening, and Learning to Understand Change: Developing a Community-Based Monitoring (CBM) Initiative in Ontario's Far North. Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Toronto.Google Scholar
Ruffell, Alastair, McCabe, Alan, Donnelly, Colm, and Sloan, Brian 2009 Location and Assessment of an Historic (150–160 years old) Mass Grave Using Geographic and Ground Penetrating Radar Investigation, NW Ireland. Journal of Forensic Sciences 54:382–394.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmidt, Armin, Linford, Paul, Linford, Neil, David, Andrew, Gaffney, Chris, Sarris, Apostolos, and Fassbinder, Jörg 2015 EAC Guidelines for the Use of Geophysics in Archaeology: Questions to Ask and Points to Consider. Europae Archaeologiae Consilium, Swindon, United Kingdom.Google Scholar
Silliman, Stephen W. 2008 Collaborative Indigenous Archaeology: Troweling at the Edges, Eyeing the Center. In Collaborating at the Trowel's Edge: Teaching and Learning in Indigenous Archaeology, edited by Silliman, Stephen W., pp. 1–20. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Stevenson, Marc G. 1996 Indigenous Knowledge in Environmental Assessment. Arctic 49:278–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supernant, Kisha 2018 Reconciling the Past for the Future: The Next 50 years of Canadian Archaeology in the Post-TRC era. Canadian Journal of Archaeology / Journal Canadien d'Archéologie 42:144–153.Google Scholar
Supernant, Kisha, Baxter, Jane Eva, Lyons, Natasha, and Atalay, Sonya 2020 Archaeologies of the Heart. Springer International, Cham, Switzerland.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supernant, Kisha, and Warrick, Gary 2014 Challenges to Critical Community-Based Archaeological Practice in Canada. Canadian Journal of Archaeology / Journal Canadien d'Archéologie 38:563–591.Google Scholar
Thompson, Victor D., Arnold, Philip J. III, Pluckhahn, Thomas J., and Vanderwarker, Amber M. 2011 Situating Remote Sensing in Anthropological Archaeology. Archaeological Prospection 18:195–213.Google Scholar
Tuck, Eve, and Wayne Yang, K. 2012 Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society 1(1):1–40.Google Scholar
Tuhiwai-Smith, Linda 2012 Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. 2nd ed. Zed Books, London.Google Scholar
Wadsworth, William T. D. 2020 Above, Beneath, and Within: Collaborative and Community-Driven Archaeological Remote Sensing Research in Canada. Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton.Google Scholar
Wadsworth, William T. D., Bank, Carl-Georg, Patton, Katherine, and Doroszenko, Dena 2020 Forgotten Souls of the Dawn Settlement: A Multi-Component Geophysical Survey of Unmarked Graves at the British American Institute Cemetery. Historical Archaeology 54:624–646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, Alice P. 2015 Private Property, Public Archaeology: Resident Communities as Stakeholders in American Archaeology. World Archaeology 47:212–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, Larry J. 2005 First, Be Humble: Working with Indigenous Peoples and Other Descendant Communities. In Indigenous Archaeologies: Decolonising Theory and Practice, edited by Smith, Claire and Wobst, Hans Martin, pp. 284–296. Routledge, London.Google Scholar