Abstracts
Abstract
The ‘Parsons site,’ a large Huron-Wendat village site near York University’s Keele campus located by archaeologists in the early 1950s, has been subject to a variety of investigations and development proposals which have mobilized certain narratives about the site and its inhabitants. This article provides an analysis of how these narratives represent the site, its inhabitants, and contemporary Huron-Wendat. It problematizes narratives that describe the site as an archaeological resource and situate Huron-Wendat presence in the past. Although these narratives have shifted to acknowledge ongoing Huron-Wendat presence, more collaboration with contemporary Huron-Wendat communities regarding this and other sites is needed.
Résumé
Le « Site Parsons », un grand village ancestral huron-wendat près du campus Keele de l’Université York, retrouvé par les archéologues au début des années 1950, a fait l’objet d’une série d’enquêtes et de propositions de développement, qui ont mené à certains récits concernant ce lieu et ses habitants. Dans cet article, nous allons fournir une analyse de la façon dont ces récits représentent le site, ses habitants, et les Hurons-Wendats contemporains. Nous allons problématiser la description du site en tant que ressource archéologique qui situe les Huron-Wendats dans le passé. Bien que dernièrement ces récits commencent à reconnaître la présence continue des Hurons-Wendats, une collaboration accrue avec leurs communautés contemporaines concernant ce site et d’autres est nécessaire.
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Appendices
Biographical notes
L. Anders Sandberg is a Professor in Environmental Studies at York University. His most recent book co-edited with Jocelyn Thorpe and Stephanie Rutherford, is Methodological Challenges in Nature-Culture Research (Routledge, 2016). He is the lead of the Alternative Campus Tour and teaches courses in environmental politics, forest and environmental history and political ecology.
Jon Johnson is an Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) at the University of Toronto. His research is focused on urban land-based Indigenous Knowledges in Toronto, their representation through oral and digital forms of storytelling, and mutually respectful and beneficial collaborative projects between Indigenous communities and the university.
Rene Gualtieri holds a BEd and Honours Bachelor of Environmental Studies degree from York University. In 2019, she obtained a diploma in Outdoor Environmental Education from the University of British Columbia. Her desired professional career path is permaculture and developing school programs that bring land-based learning to life.
Louis Lesage is a Huron-Wendat, and the Director of the Nionwentsïo Office for his Nation. He is a member of the National Aboriginal Committee on Species at Risk. He is also a member of the Rouge National Urban Park First Nations Advisory Circle and works on the protection of a natural forest where cultural heritage is significant. He earned his PhD in Biology.