[email protected]
705-949-2301  ext. 4339
Office: SH 413

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, which challenges 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 carry out 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 Associate Professor in Sociology-Anthropology and is cross-appointed to Geography Geology and Land Stewardship where she serves as the Chair of the department, she is a Canada Research Cahir in Healing and Reconciliation at Algoma University in Ontario. https://vancouversun.com/news/national/aboriginal-anthropologist

CBC News 2018 Paulette Steeves Migration Theories

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-indigenous-communities-react-

to-the-resurfacing-of-two-migration-theories-1.4479632

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

May 30- 31st    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.

March 21st  Keynote speaker. Seminole Tribe of Florida, Tribal Historic Preservation Office.  Strategic Planning Retreat. Reclaiming Indigenous History and Links to Homelands.

Feb, 17TH 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.

Oct 23, 2021. Ontario Archaeology Symposium. Oral Histories and Archaeology. Archaeology’s Place in Reclaiming and Reconciliation: Supporting Indigenous Archaeologies and Paths to Healing.

Oct 7, 2021. University of Southampton, UK. Centre for the Archaeology of Human Origins (CAHO) Seminar Series-Rebecca Ferreira organizer. The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere.

July 21, 2021. Register of Professional Archaeologists USA, Register of Professional Archaeologists UK. RPA Ethics Workshop and Unmarked Burials.

July 22, 2021. Inaugural Seminar in the Manchester Museum Indigenizing Museums Indigenous Experts Series. Finding Home Reviving, Reclaiming, and Rewriting the Indigenous Past for the Present.

April 29, 2021: Flinders University, Archaeology Research Seminar Series. Finding Home: Reviving, Reclaiming, and Rewriting the Indigenous Past for the Present.

March 4, 2021:  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

Oct 8th, 2019, 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, July 15-20, 2018.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. 2016.

World Archaeological Congress 8.  Kyoto, Japan. Archaeology in Education (tertiary) Linking Land to Heart, Mind and Heritage. Session Co-Chair and presenter. 2016.

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). 2016.

Organization of American Historians. Providence, RI. Honoring Ancestors: Indigenous Leaders and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). 2016.

The 48th Annual Chacmool Conference. University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. Shallow Pasts, Endless Horizons: Sustainability & Archaeology. Sustaining a Meaningful Archaeology Through Ceremonies of Research. 2015.

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. 2013.

Columbia University, New York, N.Y.  Indigenous Spaces: Pushing the Boundaries of History, Bodies, Geographies, and Politics. Decolonizing Indigenous Histories. 2012.

To learn more about Paulette Steeves, please visit her website.

[email protected]
705-949-2301, ext. 4374
Office: SH 302D

Dr. Nairne Cameron is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Geology. An avid fan of outdoors activities, Cameron found Geography to be a natural fit for her. In the classroom, her interests extend beyond the study of physical phenomena and into the realm of human geography as she encourages her students to take interest in both their own community and communities around the globe.

Cameron grew up in a rural area outside of Ottawa. She credits living in this area, which was close to both agricultural activities and a large urban centre, as first stimulating her interest in different geographical issues such as land-use, transportation and urban geography. She also cites the influence of her family as being an important factor in encouraging her to pursue an academic career.

“My father as a research scientist, and my mother as a science teacher and later travel agent, passed on to me their interest in research, science, nature, and exploring the world,” says Cameron. “My sister who lives in Vancouver has also been a great support.”

After graduating with her B.Sc. from Queen’s University, Cameron would go on to obtain both her M.A and Ph. D. from the University of Ottawa. She identifies her graduate supervisor Dr. Barry Wellar as having been “instrumental” in her academic studies of land use and transportation development.

Upon completing her Ph.D. Cameron would go on to become a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Alberta. It would be here that she would achieve what she considers to be her most important accomplishment.

“While at the University of Alberta, I began working with an Edmonton neighbourhood called Highlands that lost a grocery store 15 years ago. The community continues to mourn the loss, and is frustrated by the legal restrictions preventing the entry of a new grocery store. I have made several presentations and produced a report on this issue.”

Cameron has been impressed with both Algoma University and Sault Ste. Marie since her arrival in 2008. She singles out the local cross-country skiing opportunities as being especially noteworthy. However, she also reserves some praise for the quality of education at Algoma U.

“I believe that Algoma is a unique institution,” she says. “How many other campuses make maple syrup? I love the size of Algoma, the inclusion of the faculty in the Senate, and the sense of community. The small size means that communications are easier, and there is an opportunity for everyone including faculty, staff, and students to become acquainted with each other.”

In the classroom, Cameron enjoys the give-and-take with students. She encourages her students to stay abreast of what is happening both locally and around the world, but she also takes the time to absorb what the students have to teach her.

“I’ve learned a great deal about Sault Ste. Marie from my students,” says Cameron, “especially urban issues.”

Cameron feels that the small class sizes and the focus on teaching at Algoma University make the school a great choice for undergraduates. She also notes that Algoma U is closely situate to a number of highly interesting geographical features.

“Algoma is a fantastic location in which to study Geography. The urban community of Sault Ste. Marie and the city’s strategic location on the Great Lakes and international border with the United States provide a stimulating setting for exploration of human geography issues. Geographers will appreciate the spectacular physical features of the Algoma Region including the Great Lakes and Canadian Shield, and the outdoor opportunities this area provides.”

Dr. William Osei is Professor Emeritus (Full Professor). His academic qualifications include: Ph.D. (The University of Western Ontario, London Ontario), M.A. (Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario), and B.A. Hons. (University of Ghana, Legon-Accra). He received the Distinguished Faculty Award (Senate of Algoma University, 1996). Dr. Osei’s life-long research and professional Interests are: energy systems. environment and development. agriculture and agroecosystems. community-based approaches to natural resources management. risks, hazards, and disaster management. sustainable development: concepts, approaches, and practices in time and space. He has participated in local, national, and international conferences and workshops on resources, energy, environment, and sustainable development. Dr. Osei was a long-term member of recognized professional associations and various academic specialty groups.

[email protected]

M.Sc. Environmental Assessment, McGill University
B.A. Honours Geography, Laurentian University
B.A. Honours Anthropology, Laurentian University

Cheryl is an Anishinaabekwe who comes from Point Grondine in Ontario. She started instructing with Algoma in 2016 where she delivered the Eco-Based Approach to Land Use Planning: A Community Perspective. She has since developed and delivered the Indigenous Knowledge in Environmental Stewardship Course and she also teaches the Legal Issues in Community Development: Case Studies in Treaty Rights, Landuse and Enterprise Relations in the Community Economic and Social Development program. In addition to her work with our Algoma Family, Cheryl works for Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin as the Director of Research and Communications in which she leads the Use and Occupancy Research program for 21 Anishinaabe communities. Cheryl is starting her PhD studies in September 2022 in Indigenous Governance at the University of Victoria. 

[email protected]

• Ph.D. Geography and Environment, Western University (2021)
• M.A. Anthropology, Western University (2010)
• B.A. Anthropology, Western University (2008)

Dr. Rebecca Ellis is a sessional instructor who has taught the Introduction to the Human Environment course at the Brampton campus. Her PhD dissertation, “Pollinator People: An ethnography of bees, bee advocates and possibilities for multispecies commoning in Toronto and London, ON”, examined the entangled and embodied relationship between people and urban bees. Her M.A. research focused on the role of community gardens in Parkdale, a rapidly gentrifying neighbourhood in Toronto. Her research interests include animal geographies, political ecology, commons and commoning, and sustainable food systems. Although Becky grew up on a small farm in Southwestern Ontario, she loves the energy of cities. Becky lives in London, Ontario where she is a beekeeper, an avid gardener, and long-time community activist, especially around issues of social justice, cycling, and urban agriculture.

Dr. Michael Feehan Doyle, Adjunct Research Professor, is a broadly trained plant biologist with wide-ranging interests including physical geography, island biogeography, conservation ecology, environmental impacts (including climate change), and food systems. Dr. Doyle has served in academic and research consultancies world–wide (over 30 countries). He was awarded the International Honor Award, from the USDA in 2006, and became a Kellogg/APLU Food Systems Leadership Fellow (FSLI) in 2008. In 2019, Dr. Doyle and his wife, Debra, acquired a pristine island north of Algoma University and are engaged in developing a small scientific field station (training, research, and environmental monitoring) on it, as well as establishing the island as a conservation area.

[email protected]

Credentials:
HBA Environmental Studies (University of Ottawa)
MES Environmental Students (Lakehead University)
BEd (Lakehead University)

Kim grew up in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, but has been happily living close to Lake Superior in Sault Ste. Marie since 2010. She is interested in the interactions between people and the built and natural environments. Specific areas of interest include urban sustainability and vitality, and endangered languages and language preservation.

Kim has her Bachelor of Education from Lakehead University and enjoys working with students of all ages. She is dedicated to inclusive education and strives to spark curiosity in her students.