ArchaeoCafé - Episode 2-15 - Archaeology and Missing Children: An interview with Eldon Yellowhorn

In this episode I talk with Eldon Yellowhorn about the Missing Children Project and his use of archaeology in this project. We also discuss calls to action in the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Canada) which are particularly relevant to archaeology, and we discuss the various ways that history can be recorded, revealed and retold.

Episode notes are available on the ArchaeoCafé website.
http://archaeocafe.kvasirpublishing.com/archaeocafe-podcast-ep-215-yellowhorn

About Eldon Yellowhorn

Dr. Yellowhorn (whose Piikani name is Otahkotskina) is from the Piikani First Nation. His early career in archaeology began in southern Alberta where he studied the ancient cultures of the plains. He completed undergraduate degrees in physical geography (BS, 1983) and archaeology (BA, 1986) at the University of Calgary and later graduate degrees in archaeology at Simon Fraser University (MA, 1993) and anthropology at McGill University (PhD, 2002). He was appointed to faculty at Simon Fraser University in 2002 (where he currently teaches archaeology and First Nations studies) and established the Department of First Nations Studies in 2012. He teaches courses dedicated to chronicling the experience of Aboriginal people across Canada. He was president of the Canadian Archaeological Association from 2010 to 2012, the first Aboriginal person elected to this position. His research has examined the northern plains, and the ancient lifeways of his Piikani ancestors. His main interest is the evolution of communal hunting from the early Holocene to the nineteenth century when this custom was rendered obsolete with the extinction of the bison herds. He augmented his research of material culture with Piikani oral narratives. He is a native speaker of the Blackfoot language and is working to preserve it and ensure it has a future.

Web:
https://www.sfu.ca/indg/about/people/eldon-yellowhorn.html
https://www.sfu.ca/fenv/about/meet-the-people/research-profiles/profiles/eldon-yellowhorn/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4004864.Eldon_Yellowhorn

Some useful terminology and links

Indian Residential Schools system (Canada)
A network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. Between 1831 and 1996, residential schools operated in Canada through funding by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administration by Christian churches. Attendance was mandatory from 1894 to 1947. The school system was created to isolate Indigenous children from the influence of their own native culture and religion in order to assimilate them into the dominant Canadian culture. The number of school-related deaths remains unknown due to incomplete records. Estimates range from 3,200 to over 30,000.
http://www.afn.ca/policy-sectors/indian-residential-schools/

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC)
A truth and reconciliation commission active in Canada from 2008 to 2015, organized by the parties of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. The TRC provided those directly or indirectly affected by the legacy of the Indian Residential Schools system with an opportunity to share their stories and experiences.
https://nctr.ca/about/history-of-the-trc/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-of-canada/

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