View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Waterloo's Institutional Repository The Preservation and Stewardship of Archaeological Sites in the Boreal Forest: A Public Issues Approach by David Gadzala A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Public Issues Anthropology Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2014 © David Gadzala 2014 Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract Archaeological sites in the boreal forest are facing threats due to urban development, resource exploitation, vandalism, and infrastructure development, among others. In the context of archaeological site preservation as a public issue, I examine the perspectives of various publics towards the preservation and stewardship of archaeological sites in the boreal forest. Through a series of interviews, I examine the opinions of three publics involved in the archaeological process in Ontario: developers, First Nations, and archaeologists. I outline the participants’ opinions on the meaning and goals of preservation, the preservation of non-physical aspects of sites, such as oral history and site spirituality, preservation methods, site ownership and access, land use and development, involvement in the archaeological process, and funding. I also identify common themes which presented themselves throughout the interview process, such as the importance of education; the necessity for communication, collaboration, and cooperation; the problem of artifact curation; the perceived lack of genuine government involvement; and the publication of cultural resource management (CRM) archaeology’s “grey literature”. Finally, I present suggestions on the preservation of archaeological sites which take into account the participants’ perspectives uncovered during the interview process. I conclude that preserving archaeological sites can be done using three techniques: education; communication, collaboration, and compromise; and using one of three general methods to preserve sites and artifacts. Education can be used to create public issues, teach people about the importance of archaeology and archaeological sites, and teach the involved publics about the goals and methods of CRM archaeology in Ontario. Encouraging communication, collaboration, and compromise between the interested publics includes the perspectives of formerly neglected parties, builds relationships between publics, and creates newly vested interests in site preservation. Three methods to preserve archaeological sites include site stabilization and monitoring, allowing sites iii to decay naturally, and excavating sites and curating the artifacts and oral histories for the long- term. iv Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Robert Park for his continuous support, encouragement, patience, and enthusiasm throughout this project as well as his helpful comments, remarks, and constructive feedback. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Robert MacDonald and Dr. Michael Drescher for their participation during my thesis defence. Next I would like to thank the anonymous participants who have taken time out of their busy schedules and have willingly shared their precious information and opinions during the interview process. I would also like to thank Dr. John Pollock and Mr. Ryan Primrose for suggesting interview participants, helping me initially determine a thesis topic, and providing me with useful suggestions and feedback. I thank the faculty and staff of the Anthropology Department at the University of Waterloo for their constant guidance, encouragement, and support. I would like to thank the other graduate students in the Anthropology M.A. program: Beth Penney, Kaleigh Eichel, Mithila Ruthralingam, and Thomas Siek for helping me brainstorm ideas and providing me with their unflinching love. I would also like to thank them for not taking me too seriously. Finally, I would like to thank my parents Roman and Céline, my sisters Krysteena and Emily, and my brother Kenneth for their continual love and support throughout my life. v This thesis is dedicated to my awesome parents, Roman and Céline vi Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2: PUBLIC ISSUES ................................................................................................... 4 2.1) Why are archaeological sites important and why is excavation not the only option? ........... 5 2.2) Why is archaeological site preservation a public issue? ....................................................... 6 2.3) Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 3: LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND ..................................................................... 17 3.1) Ontario’s Legislation ........................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................. 20 4.1) Scope ................................................................................................................................... 20 4.2) Setting ................................................................................................................................. 21 4.3) Recruitment/Selection Process ............................................................................................ 21 4.4) Interview Process ................................................................................................................ 23 4.5) Ethics and Risks to Participants .......................................................................................... 25 4.6) Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 26 4.7) Limitations .......................................................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS ............................................................................................................. 28 5.1) Interviewee Introduction ..................................................................................................... 28 5.2) Interview Results ................................................................................................................. 29 5.3) Recurring Themes ............................................................................................................... 60 CHAPTER 6: SUGGESTIONS/CONCLUSION ...................................................................... 71 6.1) Interviewee-Defined Descriptions ....................................................................................... 71 6.2) Suggestions ......................................................................................................................... 73 6.3) Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 81 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 83 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ............................................................................. 92 APPENDIX B: GLOBAL PRESERVATION BACKGROUND ............................................. 94 APPENDIX C: NOTICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION CENTRE ..................................... 119 vii List of Figures Figure 1: Coloured nations indicate areas which have been subjected to modern colonialism ................. 13 Figure 2: Map of the boreal forest (green) in Ontario................................................................................ 22 Figure 3: Black lines represent participants who were interviewed; red lines represent incomplete interviews (initially agreed to participate, later failed to reply) .................................................................. 23 Figure 4: Components of the interview situation and their potential effects on the interviews ................ 25 Figure 5: Archaeologist perceptions to the consistency and transparency of the government's report review process pre- and post-introduction of the 2011 Standards and Guidelines .................................... 68 Figure 6: Proposed site ownership plan ..................................................................................................... 72 viii CHAPTER 1 Introduction We suspect that unless archaeologists find ways to make their research increasingly relevant to the modern world, the modern world will find itself increasingly capable of getting along without archaeologists. - Fritz and Plog 1970:42 My inspiration for this thesis came to me as I worked for an archaeological consulting firm during the summers of 2010-2013. Prior to my employment, I had no interest in North American archaeology. I figured there was nothing of importance