Popular culture often equates archeology with the trials and tribulations of Hollywood blockbusters like Indiana Jones. But when it comes researching Métis history, the film’s star Harrison Ford need not apply. Instead, the Métis look to researchers like Kisha Supernant, who uses digital spatial data instead of whips to find such archival treasures as beadwork instead of gold chests. Like Indiana Jones, Supernant takes her research to the field, not for adventure and mayhem but, sadly, to use ground-penetrating radar to discover unmarked graves at former residential schools.

Of Métis descent, Supernant is the Director of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archeology and Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta. In her discussion with host David Wylynko, Supernant explains the difference between archeology and anthropology, uses beadwork and other artifacts to trace Métis lineage back to the fur trade across Canada, and delves into the need to upend a history of non-Indigenous academics dominating the tale of Indigenous history. Supernant describes the importance of Exploring Métis Identity Through Archaeology (EMITA), a collaborative research project that takes a relational approach to exploring the material past of Métis communities.

More information

• Kisha Supernant website
• Exploring Métis Identity Through Archaeology project
• College of News Scholars, Artists, and Scientists
• The True Canadians book
• Intro and outro music by Métis musician Alex Kusturok
• Opening quote from an address by Métis leader Jim Sinclair during the 1987 Canadian constitutional talks