Research planned

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Canadian archeologists are hoping to uncover some pre-historic secrets about Saskatchewan's earliest inhabitants in a five-year, multi-million dollar research project that studies how Native people lived on the Prairies thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers.

Last month, the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon announced it will be part of an international team that will study Northern Plains culture in a period that predates the Europeans' arrival in North America by nearly 9,000 years.

The project will receive a $2.5 million boost from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, a national funding body that promotes cultural research.

The research team will be led by Dr. Bev Nicholson, professor of archaeology at Brandon University in Brandon, Man.

Other academic leaders on the inter-disciplinary team include Dr. David Meyer from the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Dion Wiseman, assistant professor of geography at Brandon University, Dr. Scott Hamilton from Lakehead University, Dr. Andrea Freeman from the University of Calgary, Dr. Alwynne Beaudoin from the Provincial Museum of Alberta and Dr. Garry Running from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire.

The Northern Plains project will use archaeological, geo-archaeological and historical data together with First Nations oral traditions to gather information about Native culture in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Meyer, the head of archeology at the University of Saskatchewan, said the project will have a significant impact on his department and will contribute to a better understanding of Native culture in the province.

Research in Saskatchewan will initially take place at a site near the forks of the South Saskatchewan and North Saskatchewan rivers, about 50 km east of Prince Albert.

Researchers believe Native people used the site in two different time periods. The first known activity at the site took place nearly 6,000 years ago.

Meyers said U of S archeologists participating in the project hope to learn more about culture, climate and the interaction between Native people and the environment.

The research could also shed light on the issue of global warming by looking at things such as vegetation, diet and changes in the region's geography.

Other research areas in Saskatchewan include a site near Prince Albert that dates back to about AD 500 and a site near Birch Hills that dates back to about AD 1500 shortly before Europeans made their first contact with Northern Plains Indians.

The five-year research project will build on existing archaeological research and will use a variety of information sources including state-of-the-art Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology, paleobotanical data, soil sciences data, and archival research. Nicholson, the project leader, says another important aspect of the research will be the integration of oral traditions and history, preserved over time by Native Elders.

"First Nations peoples have occupied the Northern Plains since the end of the last glaciation," Nicholson said. "Their perceptions will be a valuable aspect of the research."

In Saskatchewan, the data collected at excavation sites will be interpreted in the context of historical knowledge that has already been gained from local Aboriginal people.

The resources, travel routes, place names, special places and seasonal rounds of the Aboriginal people will be determined through interviews with Cree Elders and through extensive documentary research.

The Northern Plains region has been home to Indigenous communities for thousands of years.

The latest research project will attempt to reconstruct the natural and cultural landscape at time intervals of 500, 1500, 3000, 6000 and 9000 years before the present.