[email protected]

[email protected]
705-949-2301  ext. 4339

Dr. Paulette Steeves. Ph.D. – (Cree- Metis) was born in Whitehorse, Yukon Territories, and grew up in Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada. She is an Indigenous archaeologist focusing on the Pleistocene history of the Western Hemisphere. In her research, Steeves argues that Indigenous peoples were present in the Western Hemisphere as early as 60,000 years ago and possibly much earlier. She has created a database of hundreds of archaeology sites in North and South America that date from 200,000 to 12,000 years before the present, challenging the Clovis First dogma of a post 12,000 year before present initial migration. Dr. Steeves received her BA in Anthropology, Honors Cum Laude from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, then completed a two-year internship with the Quapaw NAGPRA program during her undergraduate studies. In 2008 Dr. Steeves was awarded the Clifford D. Clark fellowship to attend graduate studies at Binghamton University in New York State. Dr. Steeves’s dissertation Decolonizing Indigenous Histories: Pleistocene Archaeology Sites of the Western Hemisphere. Her dissertation is the first dissertation framed in Indigenous Method and Theory in Anthropology-Archaeology within the United States. In 2011 and 2012, she worked with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to conduct studies in the Great Plains on mammoth sites, which contained evidence of human technology on the mammoth bone, thus showing that humans were present in Nebraska for over 18,000 years ago. Dr. Steeves has taught Anthropology courses with a focus on Native American and First Nations histories and studies and decolonization of academia and knowledge production at Binghamton University, Selkirk College, Fort Peck Community College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Mount Allison University, she is currently an Full Professor in Geography Geology and Land Stewardship,  Member of the Faculty of Cross-Cultural Studies, and Chair of the Algoma University Senate IEDI Committee. She is a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous History Healing and Reconciliation at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. https://vancouversun.com/news/national/aboriginal-anthropologist

Areas of Teaching and Research Interest

My teaching interests are woven through areas of Anthropology, Indigenous Studies, Heritage Studies, Archaeology, and Decolonization. I have training and experience in Anthropology, Archaeology, Physical Anthropology and Genetics, Heritage Studies, Indigenous Studies, Social Cultural Studies, and Museum Curation and Collections. I have area expertise in North, and South American archaeology sites and material remains during the Pleistocene, pre- 11,200 years before the present, including published research in Pleistocene archaeology and links to Indigenous heritage and identity. As an archaeologist, I have experience in research and excavations in Canada and the USA across time from the Pleistocene to the present day. In teaching, I focus on historical and contemporary processes of colonization, Agnotology, and decolonization to create discussion on challenging discrimination and racism within society.

Teaching Philosophy

My goal in the classroom is to challenge students to apply critical thought and become active and engaged learners. I have worked to create a curriculum that is challenging yet, also considers diverse learning styles and student backgrounds. I encourage students to arrive at a deeper understanding of the historical processes of colonization and how their education and future work and scholarship may support processes of reconciliation and decolonization. Providing this historical framework of processes of colonization and decolonization in Canada allows students to become informed of a history many were unaware of until very recently and challenge stereotypes and think critically about their future role as peers and scholars. I encourage students to explore areas of interest and study by introducing productive research strategies that highlight learning practices both in and outside the class. In teaching engaged community research and applied scholarship, I provide students with contemporary examples of research focused on applied scholarship, community engagement, and collaboration. I aim to instill an understanding of important issues such as the historical background of knowledge production and the opportunity to become informed through a study of multiple perspectives of heritage, identity, and history. In my classes, I introduce students to social and political processes, such as how people acquire their sense of history and nationality. I discuss with students how we can focus our studies and research to support social justice and make the world a better place for all people.

Academic Publications and Presentations

Steeves, P.  (2021). the Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere (the Americas). Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press. 

https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496202178/

Steeves, P (2021). Singing to Ancestors Respecting and Re-telling Stories Woven Through Ancient Ancestral Lands. In A. McGrath & Russell, (Eds). Companion to Indigenous Global History. Routledge.

Steeves, P. (2020). Our Earliest Ancestors: Human and Non-Human Primates of North America. In Martin Porr & Jacqueline Matthews (Eds.), Interrogating Human Origins. Decolonization and the Deep Past. New York, NY: Routledge.

Steeves, P. (2020). Re-Claiming and Re-Writing the Past Through Indigenous Voices and Worldviews. Journal of American Archaeology.

Steeves, P.  (2020). Indigenous Methodologies in Archaeology. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology 2nd edition. (Ed.), Claire Smith. Springer, New York. On-line 2019.

Steeves, P.  (2020). The La Sena Site (18,440 ± 90 14 C yr BP):  A Pre-Clovis site in South West Nebraska. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology 2nd edition. (Ed.), Claire Smith. Springer, New York. On-line 2019.

Steeves, P. (2020). Deloria, Jr., Vine. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology 2nd edition. (Ed.), Claire Smith. Springer, New York. (Revised entry upcoming in 2nd edition). On-line 2019.

Steeves, P. (2020). Mesa Verde Geography and Culture. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology 2nd edition. (Ed.), Claire Smith.  Springer, New York. (Revised entry upcoming in 2nd edition). On-line 2019. 

Steeves, P. (2020). Clovis and Folsom, Indigenous occupation prior to. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology 2nd edition. (Ed.), Claire Smith. Springer, New York. (Revised entry upcoming in 2nd edition). On-line 2019.        

Steeves, Paulette. (2018). “Indigeneity.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Anthropology. Ed. John Jackson. New York: Oxford University Press. Oxford Online.

Steeves, P. (2017). Unpacking Neoliberal Archaeological Control of Ancient Indigenous Heritage. Archaeologies, 13(1), 48-65.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11759-017-9312-z

Steeves, P. (2015). Decolonizing the Past and Present of the Western Hemisphere (The Americas). Archaeologies, 11(1), 42-69.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11759-015-9270-2

Steeves, P. (2015). Academia, Archaeology, CRM, and Tribal Historic Preservation. Archaeologies, 11(1), 121-141.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11759-015-9266-y

Steeves, P. (2014). Deloria, Jr., Vine. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, (pp. 2091-2093). Springer, New York.

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-1-4419-0465-2_411

Steeves, P. (2014). Mesa Verde Geography and Culture. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, (pp. 4776-4780). Springer, New York.

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-1-4419-0465-2_1658

Steeves, P. (2014). Clovis and Folsom, Indigenous Occupation Prior to. Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology (pp. 1508-1513). Springer, New York.

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-1-4419-0465-2_1847

Selected Conference Presentations

NAISA regional conference, Lakehead University. Telling Our Own Stories: Indigenous Self-Determination in Data and Research. Indigenous Science: Reinterpreting Data to Reclaim and Rewrite Indigenous History.

Keynote speaker. Seminole Tribe of Florida, Tribal Historic Preservation Office.  Strategic Planning Retreat. Reclaiming Indigenous History and Links to Homelands.

Archaeological Conservancy (USA) Archaeology’s Place in Healing and Reconciliation: Reclaiming the Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere.  The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere, reclaiming Indigenous history in the Western Hemisphere, how archaeologists can work for and with Indigenous communities in reclaiming history, and challenging racism and discrimination.

Ontario Archaeology Symposium. Oral Histories and Archaeology. Archaeology’s Place in Reclaiming and Reconciliation: Supporting Indigenous Archaeologies and Paths to Healing.

University of Southampton, UK. Centre for the Archaeology of Human Origins (CAHO) Seminar Series-Rebecca Ferreira organizer. The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere.

Register of Professional Archaeologists USA, Register of Professional Archaeologists UK. RPA Ethics Workshop and Unmarked Burials.

Inaugural Seminar in the Manchester Museum Indigenizing Museums Indigenous Experts Series. Finding Home Reviving, Reclaiming, and Rewriting the Indigenous Past for the Present.

Flinders University, Archaeology Research Seminar Series. Finding Home: Reviving, Reclaiming, and Rewriting the Indigenous Past for the Present.

United States Department of the Interior  Bureau of Oceans and Energy Management  Tribal  Oceans Summit Underwater Paleolandscapes and Cultural Heritage. Pleistocene Archaeological Sites of the NE USA.  Acknowledging a Human presence on the Continental Shelf and in the NE USA prior to 9,000 years ago.

Algoma University. Keynote Address, 4th Bi-Annual Anishnaabe Knowledge and Research. Sault Ste Marie, ON. Pyro-epistemology: Indigenous Research Methodology Weaving Paths to Healing

Algoma University
Plenary Lecture: 5th Annual Universities Canada Building Reconciliation Forum
Pyroepistomology: Reviving and Reclaiming Humanities and Human Rights after Genocide. There can be no Reconciliation or Healing without Truth.

The 56th International Congress of Americanists, Salamanca, Spain, Unerasing an Erased History: Working to protect Indigenous cultural heritage and history.

University of Montana at Missoula, Student Archaeology Conference. Key Note Lecture. Decolonizing Indigenous Histories in Archeology; Pleistocene Archaeology Sites of the Americas. 

World Archaeological Congress 8.  Kyoto, Japan. Archaeology in Education (tertiary) Linking Land to Heart, Mind and Heritage. Session Co-Chair and presenter. 

Association of Critical Heritage Studies. 3rd Biennial Conference, Montreal, Canada. Heritage and the Late Modern State. Un-Erasing the Indigenous Paleolithic: Re-Writing the Ancient Pleistocene Past of the Western Hemisphere (the Americas). 

Organization of American Historians. Providence, RI. Honoring Ancestors: Indigenous Leaders and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). 

The 48th Annual Chacmool Conference. University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. Shallow Pasts, Endless Horizons: Sustainability & Archaeology. Sustaining a Meaningful Archaeology Through Ceremonies of Research. 

Society for American Archaeology 78th Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii. Symposium, Shifting Archaeological Borders and Boundaries. Decolonizing History and Academia. Rebuilding Bridges to the Indigenous Past. Session organizer and chair. 

Columbia University, New York, N.Y.  Indigenous Spaces: Pushing the Boundaries of History, Bodies, Geographies, and Politics. Decolonizing Indigenous Histories.

[email protected]
705-949-2301, ext. 4375

Credentials: BA Hons (University of Guelph), MES (York University), PhD (OISE – University of Toronto)

Assistant Professor
[email protected]
705-949-2301 ext. 4811

I was born in Sudbury and largely raised in Sault Ste. Marie, so I have spent summers on Goulais River, Goulais Bay, and Lake Superior kayaking, canoeing, and swimming. I’ve also spent a good deal of my time walking local hiking trails, camping at local provincial parks, and sitting on the Robertson Lake cliff tops while working a student summer job in my early twenties. This has given me a love for this land, an understanding of indigenous sovereignty, and a consciousness of my place in this history as someone of settler ancestry who sees reconciliation as our way forward.

I spent more than a decade away from the area related to my studies and my work as I have a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Midwifery from Laurentian University, a Bachelor of Education from Trent University, a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Community Development from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto, and a PhD in Adult Education and Community Development with a specialization in Comparative, International and Development Education from OISE, at the University of Toronto.

I have worked in community development for more than twenty years in women’s health care, informal community-based adult education settings, and formally within adult education for the Algoma District School Board (ADSB) at Northland Adult Learning Centre as a Literacy and Basic Skills Instructor and then a Program Coordinator for three of their adult education programs. From 2012 – 2017 I worked for both ADSB and at Algoma University (AU) in the Community Economic and Social Development (CESD) Department. My CESD work has included both part-time and full-time faculty positions with a complete move over to Algoma University in January of 2018 for a full-time contract position.

Because of my background I have a commitment to Northern Ontario in relation to place-based development and I love working at Algoma University in what I consider my ‘home’ community. Outside of my university work I put into ‘praxis’ some of the activism I teach in courses like: Environment and Community Resilience, Sustainable Community Development, and Community Advocacy and Social Justice, for CESD.

As most of my degrees, besides my Bachelor of Health Science degree, were acquired while raising my daughter and working fulltime, I have an appreciation and understanding of adult learners who often have full plates, and a respect for the work I see from students in the classroom. I love meeting, working with, and learning from students and other faculty, and I look forward to meeting all new students!

Dr. Sean Meades is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Economic and Social Development and Director of the Northern Ontario Research Development Ideas and Knowledge (NORDIK) Institute, Algoma’s community development and research group that emerged from the program’s longstanding record of community engagement.

Meades was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland and raised in the small community of Flatrock before relocating to Sault Ste. Marie with his family in 1995.

He completed his B.A. (Hons.) with a double major in in Gender and Women’s Studies and Linguistics at Dalhousie University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at York University. His research focuses on political economy of language policy, Indigenous social policy; community engagement and local governance; discourse analysis, cultural and heritage policy; land-use planning and community economic development in northern, rural and Indigenous communities

After returning to Sault Ste. Marie from Nova Scotia, Meades worked in popular education as an anti-homophobia and safe-sex educator with the Access AIDS Network. He later joined the team at NORDIK first as an intern in 2008. During this time, he took Anishinaabemowin and Anishinaabe Studies courses through AU and Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig, which led to a number of years volunteering and working with Shingwauk Education Trust.

Meades’ community involvement has included work with the LGBT2SQ community, anti-racism and Anishinaabe solidarity causes, cultural policy, and urban sustainability. He is currently the chair of the Cultural Vitality Committee for the City of Sault Ste. Marie and serves on the Municipal Heritage Committee.

Ushnish Sengupta is an Assistant Professor in Community Economic and Social Development at Algoma University. He has a PhD from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, and a degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto. Ushnish Sengupta’s PhD focused on data governance theory for social economy organizations. Dr. Sengupta is an award winning teacher and has taught courses at post-secondary institutions and at community based organizations. In addition to his academic
experience, he has worked in various private sector, public sector, and social sector organizations including Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Cedara Software Corp, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, OntarioMD, Ontario Telemedicine Network, and eHealth Ontario. Dr. Sengupta’s research interests include Nonprofits, Cooperatives, Entrepreneurship, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Open Data, Diversity, and the Social and Environmental impact of technology projects. He is currently researching the social and environmental impacts of the adoption of technology in Smart City projects, and underrepresented groups in social economy organizations.