Video: Indigenous Archaeological Field School

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[Music plays]

(Text on screen: Public Services and Procurement Canada)

[Shot of a male student talking on camera with trees in the background.]

(Text on screen: Bryton Beaudoin, Student)

Over the years we lost a lot of our heritage and culture. I want to try to be like the generation that kind of brings it back.

[Shot of multiple students sitting under two large red tents by the river. There are metal buckets and tools around them as they dig in the ground.]

[Shot of three students sitting on the ground and taking notes with a male teacher crouched down next to them holding a clipboard.]

The Indigenous Archaeological Field School is a new initiative to teach Indigenous youth about archaeology.

[Shot of students setting up a large tent near a bike path and river.]

[Closeup shot of a student digging up dirt and pouring it into a metal bucket.]

[Shot of multiple students sitting under two large red tents. Safety cones and equipment surround them.]

In the summer of 2021, students started digging for pre-contact artifacts at a site in the National Capital Region.

[Shot of a male student digging in a small pit.]

[Shot of two students using a wooden device to sift through the dirt.]

[Shot of students sitting on the ground and writing in notebooks.]

Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg and Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation communities participated in the project.

[Shot of a female student wearing a bucket hat talking on camera with trees in the background.]

(Text on screen: Jenna Lanigan, Assistant Project Archaeologist)

I never learned about archaeology growing up. I never even really heard of it. I didn’t, I just thought oh its just rocks and stuff like that.

[Shot of two students on the ground writing and looking through notebooks.]

[Shot of three students digging in a small pit.]

[Shot of a female student wearing a bucket hat talking on camera with trees in the background.]

But when you really look at it there’s so much knowledge there. It just really gives you an idea of who your background is and who you are, where you come from. And just why we are so important.

[Shot of a man talking on camera with trees in the background.]

(Text on screen: Douglas Odjick, Kitigan Zibi Band Councillor.)

So it’s the first Algonquin field school of its kind.

[Shot of multiple students sitting under three large red tents. A white van is parked in the background.]

[Shot of a female student sitting on the ground and writing in a notebook.]

[Shot of a male student moving the wooden device back and forth to sift through the dirt.]

[Shot of two people looking at artifacts on the table.]

[Shot of a man talking on camera with trees in the background.]

[Shot of a river with a bridge in the background and lots of trees.]

[Shot of a river with trees and plants on the shores.]

If we can get some young people from the communities learning about archaeology and then eventually being the presenters and teaching our communities and other communities and other first Nations about the findings that are here in the Ottawa region generally because it was a hub for trading.

[Shot of multiple students sitting under two large red tents by the river. There are metal buckets and tools around them as they dig in the ground.]

[Shot of a male student sitting on the ground and holding a large measuring stick in the ground.]

[Shot of two female students looking through a surveying device on a tripod.]

With guidance from archaeologists, students were given the training and tools to discover their own history.

[Closeup shot of students sifting through dirt in the large wooden device.]

[Shot of students sifting through dirt in the large wooden device.]

[Shot of a male student in a wheelchair talking on camera with trees in the background.]

First we were finding like flakes of flint that was used probably to make stone tools.

[Closeup shot of a student using a trowel to dig through dirt.]

[Shot of student putting dirt and items on tinfoil inside a small dirt pit.]

Then we found a piece of ceramic, piece of pottery. It had like designs on it.

[Shot of a male student talking on camera with trees in the background.]

[Photo of a hand holding half of an arrowhead.]

[Shot of a female student digging in a small pit with two metal buckets in front of her.]

Our biggest find is half of an arrowhead. Whenever we find stuff we just get like super excited even if it is just a flake.

[Shot of a female student wearing a bucket hat talking on camera with trees in the background.]

(Text on screen: Drew Tenasco, Student)

They are small but they are like really important.

[Closeup shot of artifacts on top of small plastic bags. The shot then focuses on the students sitting at tables in the background.]

[Shot of students sitting at a table in front of a laptop. There are multiple artifacts on the table.]

[Shot of small artifacts placed on a clipboard on a table.]

All artifacts were then taken to a lab at Algonquin College for students to clean, catalogue, and for further analysis.

[Photo of an Indigenous stone knife. A dime sits next to it for size reference.]

[Shot of workers in protective equipment digging on a site on Parliament Hill.]

(Text on screen: Fall 2019)

[Shot of construction activities in front of the Centre Block building on Parliament Hill.]

The project was inspired by the discovery of an ancient Indigenous stone knife on Parliament Hill in 2019 during the rehabilitation of Centre Block.

[Shot of students sitting at tables inside a room with large windows.]

[Closeup shot of hands picking up artifacts off the table.]

[Shot of a male student putting artifacts on a clipboard.]

[Shot of students examining artifacts on a table.]

[Shot of a female student closely examining an artifact.]

[Shot of a man looking at artifacts placed on paper on a table.]

To establish the new initiative, Public Services and Procurement Canada worked in partnership with the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg and the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, the Canadian Museum of History, the National Capital Commission and Indigenous Services Canada.

[Shot of a man talking on camera with wooden artwork in the background.]

(Text on screen: Mathew Smith, Field School Coordinator, Public Services and Procurement Canada)

[Shot of a man looking at artifacts on a table.]

[Shot of small artifacts placed on plastic bags and paper on a table.]

As a First Nation public servant, I believe this project is a step in the right direction for government of Canada to reconcile its relationship with Indigenous Peoples.

[Shot of a female student picking up an artifact from the table and examining it.]

[Shot of two students looking at artifacts on the table.]

I think it’s important because we have a lot of lost history being Indigenous.

[Shot of a female student wearing a bucket hat talking on camera with trees in the background.]

Finding all these artifacts is also bringing to our community because a lot of artifacts are in museums.

[Shot of a male student sitting at a table looking at artifacts.]

[Shot of a male student talking on camera with trees in the background.]

That’s basically the mission for us: find some of our lost heritage and just bring it home.

[Music stops]

(Text on screen: Check us out: facebook.com/PSPC.SPAC, instagram.com/pspc_spac, twitter.com/pspc_spac, youtube.com/PWGSCanada)

(Public Services and Procurement Canada signature)

(Canada Wordmark)

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