Part One: Introduction
Territory Acknowledgement & Positionality
I want to acknowledge that the lands on which I work, study, and live—within the St. John’s area—are situated in the traditional territories of diverse Indigenous groups, including the Beothuk [bee-oth-uck] and Mi’kmaq [mee-gum-maq] on the island of Newfoundland. Further, I acknowledge with respect the diverse histories and cultures in the province, including the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq in Newfoundland and the Innu [in-new] and Inuit [in-new-eet] in Labrador.
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I am a settler from Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), with family ties to Conception Bay North and Central Newfoundland—home of the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq since time immemorial. I am an anthropological archaeologist in training and cannot speak on behalf of Indigenous Peoples. However, in my work, I strive to help correct colonial misconceptions about Indigenous history, motivated by my experience growing up in urban Newfoundland and not learning about Indigenous Peoples in NL (or Canada)—including the past and ongoing colonial injustices that Indigenous Peoples have and continue to face.
Introduction
For my third blog post, I have decided to share a brief summary of the Indigenous archaeological history in NL for three reasons: 1) Indigenous (archaeological) history is not commonly taught in public schooling (or easily accessible); 2) it shows a connection between past Indigenous Peoples and contemporary Indigenous Peoples—Indigenous Peoples have and continue to be here since time immemorial; and 3) it is important to know the history of the territory we live on as graduate students and future researchers in this province. Many non-Indigenous folks think that Newfoundland (and sometimes Labrador) did not have Indigenous Peoples in the past or even in the present—this could not be further from the truth!
There are three main archaeological cultures in NL’s Indigenous history: 1) First Nations (formerly called “Amerindians”); 2) Past Arctic Peoples (also called “Paleo-Inuit” and formerly called “Paleo-Eskimos”); and 3) Inuit. Archaeological cultures are categories developed by archaeologists/anthropologists based on material culture (artifacts) and historic accounts (typically written by Europeans), meaning archaeological cultures are not how past Indigenous Peoples would have self-identified. As we move forward, I want to note that archaeology is just one way of viewing the past and is mainly from the perspective of settlers without the inclusion of Indigenous voices—much work is needed to include Indigenous perspectives on the deep archaeological past of this province. Indigenous Peoples have been living in the Americas for tens of thousands of years, with Indigenous accounts of their presence in the province since time immemorial and material culture dating back at least 9,000 years ago. The descendants of some of these archaeological cultures live in the province today, including the Innu and Inuit in Labrador, and the Mi’kmaq on the island of Newfoundland. As such, there is a lot of information to cover (even in a brief summary), so I have decided to make a mini-series with three separate blog posts, roughly based on each archaeological culture—we will start with the First Nations Archaeological Cultures!