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OAS Symposium 2024 – Events

2024 Annual Symposium
of the
Ontario Archaeological Society

Schedule of Events

 

REGISTRATION

Friday, Oct. 25, 2024

Registration (online registrants only) is available in the Valhalla Lobby from 8:30 am – 1:00 pm.

Registration (all registrants) also available at Thunder Bay Museum beginning at 7:00 pm.

Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024

Registration (all registrants) begins at 8:00 am in the Valhalla Lobby. 

FRIDAY, OCT. 25, 2024

Lakehead University (click for map)

Morning and afternoon workshops (no registration required):

  • 9:30 am – Elder Cindy Crowe Opening Ceremony (Braun Building 2nd Floor Room BB2002)
  • 9:50 am – Pottery Workshop with Brad Hyslop and Jill Taylor-Hollings (Braun Building 2nd Floor Room BB2002)
  • 9:50 am – Flintknapping Workshop with Clarence Surette (University Centre Basement Room UC0033)
  • 12:00 – 1:00 pm – Lunch (Outpost Student Pub or your choice)
  • 1:00 pm – Flintknapping Workshop with Clarence Surette (University Centre Basement Room UC0033)
  • 1:00 pm – Copper Workshop with Ryan Peterson and Larry Furo (Lakehead University Garage Area near Lake Tamblyn)
Buses to/from Lakehead University and the Valhalla: 
  • 9:15 am – Valhalla to Agora Circle (LU)
  • 12:00 pm – Valhalla to Agora Circle
  • 4:30 pm – Agora Circle to Valhalla
OAS Administration Meetings 

  • 2:00 pm – OAS Board of Directors Meeting 
  • 4:00 pm – OAS Chapter Presidents’ Meeting 

Thunder Bay Museum – https://www.thunderbaymuseum.com

  • 6:30 pm – Buses leave Valhalla Inn for Thunder Bay Museum
  • 7:00 pm – Evening Opening Reception
    • Opening by Elder Sheila DeCorte (Fort William First Nation)
    • Exclusive viewing of the museum
  • 10:00 pm – Buses depart the museum to return to the Valhalla Inn

SATURDAY, OCT. 26, 2024

Valhalla Inn – Scandia I, II, and III Rooms & Viking Room

  1. All day – two presentation sessions, poster session,
    silent auction, craftsperson sales
  2. 4:15-6:00 pm – OAS Annual Business Meeting (in person and
    via Zoom)
  3. Evening buffet supper and annual OAS awards ceremony

Presentation: Scott will be discussing his recent work with the Canadian Archaeology Working Group, the Special Interlocutor and Indigenous communities in Canada.

Indian Residential Schools: Anthropology’s Pathway Towards Reconciliation

Prof. Scott Hamilton, Dept. of Anthropology, Lakehead University

The Canadian Indian Residential School system predates Confederation and persisted into the 1990s. The schools were financed by the Canadian government and operated by various Christian churches.

They were distributed across the country, at least 150,000 children attended, and at least 4,600 died as a result. While called schools, the overarching priority was assimilation: Indigenous children’s acceptance of Euro-Canadian values, language and religion at the expense of their own. Despite early documentation of high rates of illness and death, why did the federal government adopt and continue these policies despite the consequences?

Anthropology and other social sciences contributed to this process due to the mid 19th Century emergence and widespread acceptance of Cultural Evolutionary theory, particularly with its false equivalence of ‘evolution’ with ‘progress’. Notions of ‘human progress’ offered a rationalization for European Colonialism and forced assimilation. While we might imagine these antiquated notions being comfortably in our past, they are an enduring legacy baked into our society and governance system. They also contribute to residential school ‘denialism’. This raises important challenges for anthropologists, archaeologists and other social scientists. What is our role in contributing to the TRC ‘Calls for Action’, and how can we offer service to Indigenous Nations who are leading the search for the disappeared and the deceased. This includes technical training and expertise in methods that include geophysics and remote sensing.

Valhalla Inn Buffet Menu

Fresh Baked Buns with Butter

A tray of fresh cut garden vegetables and dip: array of six
garden vegetables accompanied with our house made lemon-dill dip

A wide selection of salads:

  • Mixed greens with two dressing options:
  • Fennel coleslaw with homemade vinaigrette
  • Broccoli rochelle salad
  • Macaroni salad
  • Corn and bean salad
  • Marinated vegetable salad
  • Baked lasagna – ground beef and sausage ragu, ricotta cheese
    layered between tender pasta
  • Roast ham
  • Loaded baked potato – with bacon, green onions and sour cream
  • Buttery steamed carrots
  • Desserts: assortment of cheesecakes and house selection of
    dessert squares
  • Coffee, Decaf & Assortment of Tea

SUNDAY, OCT. 27, 2024

Valhalla Inn – Scandia I, II, III rooms

  1. Morning – two presentation sessions, coffee break
  2. Closing ceremony at noon
  3. Brief lunch break
  4. Afternoon – field trips (please note: space may be limited)
    1. Fort William Historical Park – Thunder Bay’s largest tourist venue replicates life in ca. 1815 in the area at Fort William, the inland trading post headquarters of the North West Company as experienced by Indigenous and non-Indigenous newcomers; located along the Kaministiquia River
      1. Special tour and copper workshop activities
      2. Bus from the Valhalla Inn to the park and back
    2. Early period (PalaeoIndigenous) sites and geomorphology tour with Drs. Matt Boyd and Dave Norris
      1. Thunder Bay has probably the largest concentration of early sites in Canada, which are centred on glacial Lake Minong (now Lake Superior) and the lithic material quarrying of the Gunflint formation
      2. Bus leaving Valhalla Inn, touring, and return

We are looking forward to seeing you in Thunder Bay!

The 2024 OAS Symposium Committee Co-Chairs:

Clarence Surette (President of the Thunder Bay Chapter of the OAS)

Jill Taylor-Hollings (President of the OAS)