Engaging Aboriginal Communities in Archaeology - Ministry of ...

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extend a Stage 2 survey to include lands that have been identified as of interest tothe Aboriginal community, even though those lands may have low potential tocontain cultural heritage resources; in response to sensitivities expressed by an Aboriginal community regarding thearchaeological site, increase the area where the plough zone is to be excavated byhand rather than stripped by mechanical means; work with Aboriginal monitors in the archaeological fieldwork.Include the concerns of Aboriginal communities in your recommendations to theMinistry of Tourism and Culture on the disposition of collections.3.4 Reporting back to Aboriginal communitiesAll parties should agree to a clear and transparent process for reporting back to theAboriginal community before, during and after the archaeological fieldwork process. Thisis part of engagement and may go beyond mailing the archaeological project report to thecommunity.There is a long history of outside experts studying Aboriginal communities and notsharing the data with the communities involved. In the eyes of these communities, suchdata has frequently been used against their best interests. Given this regrettable history,your efforts to ensure that valuable information from an archaeological project is madeaccessible to the community for its future use would likely be appreciated. This will alsocontribute to building effective long-term relationships with that community.Sharing information could take a variety of forms, including but not restricted to a writtenreport. To demonstrate respect for their effort and input, you may wish to make a finalpresentation on your archaeological project to the community. The presentation shouldfocus on the contribution of the community, as well as on the findings. Providing thecommunity with a copy of the background information compiled during the archaeologicalproject would likely be appreciated. When Aboriginal engagement included communityparticipation in fieldwork, reporting back to the community might also include theperspectives of the participants.Reports on archaeological assessments typically include technical terminology, professionalidioms and acronyms. You should prepare a plain-language summary of the report to makethe information accessible to Aboriginal communities that do not have an archaeologyspecialist.3.5 Reporting on Aboriginal engagement to the Ministry of Tourismand CultureWhen archaeological fieldwork has included engagement with Aboriginal communities, youmust include documentation of the engagement process in the project report package [seeDraft Engaging Aboriginal Communities in Archaeology | 11
Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists, Section 7.6.2]. The documentation mustdescribe and give reasons for the following:who was engaged;engagement procedures (e.g., communication protocol, data sharing agreementsbetween you and the community);dates and Stages when engagement took place;strategies to incorporate community input into the fieldwork (e.g., community reportreview, Aboriginal monitor); andprocess for reporting results to the community (e.g., oral presentations, plain languagedocuments).In some cases, you may engage an Aboriginal community that has already articulated itsengagement preferences about archaeology or a level of interest in certain classes ofprojects or types of sites, either through a protocol with your association or directnotification of your firm (e.g., a community may have expressed no interest in beingengaged regarding Archaic lithic scatters). If you modify your engagement approach inresponse to previously articulated community preference, you should note this in yourreport to the ministry and adapt the documentation required by Section 7.6.2 of thestandards and guidelines appropriately.Archaeological project reports submitted to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture arepublicly accessible through the Ontario Public Register of Archaeology Reports. 1 WhenAboriginal communities have been engaged in the fieldwork process, do not include anyinformation the Aboriginal community identifies as private or sensitive (e.g., informationrelated to burials, secret or sacred places, personal information) in the report that will befiled in the publicly accessible report register. [Section 7.3.1 of the Standards and Guidelinesfor Consultant Archaeologists] Such sensitive information should be provided separately, ineither the cover letter or as supplementary documentation, so that it will not be entered inthe register.Please note, however, that private or sensitive information contained in any supplementarydocumentation to the ministry would be subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection ofPrivacy Act (FIPPA), which provides the public a legal right of access to most governmentheldinformation. Although private or sensitive information is protected through theprovisions of this legislation, it is important that you work with the Aboriginal communityto determine what information is suitable for sharing with the ministry.1The Ontario Public Register of Archaeological Reports is administered by the Culture Services Unit ofthe Ministry of Tourism and Culture and can be accessed by sending a request toArchaeologicalRegister@Ontario.caDraft Engaging Aboriginal Communities in Archaeology | 12
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Page 22 and 23: Anderdon Wyandot: http://www.wyando
Page 24 and 25: Clarke, P. D.1870 Origin and Tradit
Page 26 and 27: Trigger, Bruce1976 The Children of
Page 28 and 29: ConfederacyAn organized alliance or

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