Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-26-2013 12:00 AM De-Essentializing the Past: Deconstructing Colonial Categories in 19th-Century Ontario Matthew A. Beaudoin The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Neal Ferris The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Anthropology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Matthew A. Beaudoin 2013 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Beaudoin, Matthew A., "De-Essentializing the Past: Deconstructing Colonial Categories in 19th-Century Ontario" (2013). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 1489. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/1489 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DE-ESSENTIALIZING THE PAST: DECONSTRUCTING COLONIAL CATEGORIES IN 19TH-CENTURY ONTARIO Thesis Format: Monograph by Matthew A. Beaudoin Graduate Program in Anthropology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Matthew A. Beaudoin 2013 Abstract This study engages with both the archaeology of colonialism and historical archaeology in a manner that brings them into direct dialogue with each other to explore how essentialized identity tropes are used to frame our conceptualizations of the past. The archaeology of colonialism and historical archaeology have been conceptually bifurcated along a colonized/colonizer dichotomy and continuously reified by the insertion of research into one category or the other. The archaeology of colonialism generally focuses on the experiences of the colonized within the colonial process, while historical archaeology focuses on the experiences of Europeans and/or people of European descent. This is not to say that archaeologists working on either side of this conceptual divide ignore each other entirely, but rather their foci – and subsequent discussions – rarely converge. To create a conceptual bridge between these disparate dialogues, I explore multigenerational, 19th-century sites in southwestern Ontario, all of which have two sequential occupations that serve to explore generational shifts through time. The sites explored are conventionally bifurcated along colonial and capitalist binaries, and categorized as colonized (Davisville settlement and Mohawk Village, two Mohawk communities) and colonizer (McKinney and Odlum families, two Euro-Canadian families), as well as elite (Mohawk Village and Odlum) and non-elite (Davisville and McKinney). An exploration of the patterns between generations, contexts, and the bifurcated divides enabled insights into the differences and similarities between and within the conventional tropes of colonialism. Furthermore, this allows for a discussion of how archaeological taxonomic conventions shape and conceptualize our interpretations from the outset and fundamentally limit the narratives that we produce. ii This exploration emphasizes that our contemporary archaeological discourses are products of present day sensibilities, firmly embedded within the legacies of colonialism, and create archaeological imaginaries of the past that insidiously reify the essentialized colonial divide. Instead of emphasizing the differences between Euro-Canadian and Indigenous sites, exploring the contemporaneous commonalities of existence for all the sites under study illustrates archaeological dialogues that transcend the colonial conceptual divide and de- essentialize archaeological narratives of the past. Keywords archaeology of colonialism, historical archaeology, capitalism, post-colonialism, identity, archaeological imaginary, practice theory, 19th century, foodways, Ontario, Six Nations, Euro-Canadian iii Acknowledgments This dissertation is the result of a long process of exploration that was facilitated by various conversations and discussions during the last five (or more) years. Throughout this time, so many different people have helped me refine and challenge my ideas and arguments. I extend my appreciation to everyone who has helped me on this path and I look forward to further discussions in the future. The collections analyzed for this project were generously provided by Eva MacDonald at Archaeological Services Inc., Dana Poulton and Christine Dodd at D.R. Poulton and Associates, Holly Martelle and Peter Timmins at Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants Inc., and Gary Warrick at Wilfrid Laurier University-Brantford Campus. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to talk to me about this project and providing the collections, reports, and catalogues that allowed me to complete the analyses. This project was funded through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program, The University of Western Ontario, and the Regna Darnell Award. I would like to thank my cohort, fellow graduate students, and friends at Western (along with the homebrew crew), too many of whom to mention all by name, who helped keep me grounded during the PhD process and motivated me to keep going through fun conversations over pints. They all helped me remember that there was life outside of academia. I also want to thank my thesis committee (Regna Darnell and Peter Timmins) and my examination committee (Stephanie Bangarth, Regna Darnell, Mark Wagner, and Gary Warrick), for their comments and suggestions on how to improve my work and where to take iv it into the future. Their support and discussions made this process an enjoyable one; a sentiment that I hope to extend to others in the future. I would like extend my appreciation to my supervisor, Neal Ferris, for his constant advice, support, and guidance throughout my PhD. Neal helped provide many opportunities that moulded me into the scholar that I am today, and I will always have the distinction of being his first PhD student in a long line of future graduates. His guidance help me transition from a student to colleague, and I’m happy to consider him a mentor and friend. Additionally, I want to thank Lisa Rankin for encouraging me to continue with graduate school and guiding me towards Western and Neal (I had never even heard of either before applying here – and it was the right place for me and my academic growth). Despite being away from Memorial these last years, I still feel it is my academic home. I’ll always be one of Lisa’s students at heart. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank Julianna for her constant love and support (as well as a lot of editing). Not only have her insights and observations greatly strengthened my own research, but I feel I could not have gotten this far without her. I hope to provide her the same kind of support during her own dissertation process. v Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ......................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................................... 1 1 Setting the Stage ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Dissertation Outline.................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................. 12 2 The Archaeology of Colonialism .................................................................................... 12 2.1 The Archaeology of the Colonized ......................................................................... 12 2.2 A Deluge of Dichotomies ........................................................................................ 27 2.3 The Archaeology of the Colonizer ........................................................................... 32 2.4 Seeing Identities in the Past .................................................................................... 37 2.5 The Importance of Foodways .................................................................................. 41 2.6 Moving Past the Dichotomy .................................................................................... 43 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................. 47 3 The Colonized: Mohawk................................................................................................. 47 3.1 Mohawks in Canada ................................................................................................