A Douglas College research project that seeks to provide archaeological proof for Indigenous oral histories in Líl̓wat territory has received $360,000 in funding. The grant comes from the College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
The project, Interweaving Narratives: Integrating Oral Histories with Archaeological Investigations in Líĺwat Territory, is co-led by Douglas College Anthropology instructor Bill Angelbeck in collaboration with the Líl̓wat Nation.
Now in its 10th year, the project seeks to determine the antiquity of storied Líl̓wat cultural sites and understand them in light of their oral histories. The excavation of eight pithouse village sites and radiocarbon dating of a hunting camp has provided evidence that the ancestral territory has been home to the Líl̓wat for at least 5,500 years. Other artifacts found by Johnny Jones, an archaeologist and cultural historian for the Líĺwat Nation, indicate that they’ve inhabited their territory since the glaciers receded over 8,000 years ago.
Angelbeck said that the project employs a distinctive decolonial approach that looks not just at the material evidence produced through archaeological investigation, but also the Líl̓wat stories associated with the excavation sites.
“We are weaving together ancient oral histories with scientific knowledge to strengthen and archaeologically validate Indigenous ways of knowing,” said Angelbeck. “This project provides a collaborative platform for an ongoing relationship with the Líl̓wat community. The research we’re generating in their territories, including knowledge, will be in their archives for the community to access.”
Using drone-powered LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) laser technology piloted by Geography lab technician Sasha Djakovic, the project has generated detailed 3D surface maps of excavation sites and created a database of their ancestral place names in the Ucwalmícwts language.
Angelbeck also co-published two articles in leading academic journals American Antiquity and the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences evaluating the geological record of Qwelqwelústen (the Mount Meager Volcanic Complex) in the context of Líĺwat oral histories of the volcano.
The grant money, pursued in collaboration with Líĺwat Nation Land and Resources Department, will be spent over the next three years to substantially expand research in and with the community.
“It is a deep privilege for Douglas College to contribute to scholarship in support of the Líĺwat Nation. This extraordinary project has created unique opportunities for our students, staff and faculty to learn about and contribute to knowledge of local Indigenous histories,” said Carla Hotel, Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities at Douglas College. “We are grateful to the Líĺwat Nation for their trust and continued stewardship."
Two additional CCSIF grants are currently held by Philosophy instructor Elliot Rossiter and Therapeutic Recreation instructor Colleen Reid for community-based research projects related to housing insecurity and arts-based care outreach in the province.
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