The overall goal of this project is to move forward the ongoing work of reclaiming Indigenous languages, histories, and knowledges among the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak (Rocky Cree), work that is taking place now in the context of the calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) for, among many other things, the revitalization of Indigenous cultures, the "relearning of Canad
a's national history," and the reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. The objectives and activities of the project are to undertake collaborative, community-directed archaeological research in order to advance the understanding of the Rocky Cree during the protocontact period of the mid-1600s; to build a rich historical understanding of the people of the region at the time; to create a cycle of stories about the life of the Rocky Cree that is grounded in the archaeological and historical records and set during the six seasons of the Rocky Cree year; to translate the oral stories into a series of picture books directed to young people, into a series of digital texts that invite players to actively engage the Rocky Cree world, and into travelling and permanent museum exhibits; to develop teachers' guides to support the curricular use of the narratives and to provide training for educators in culturally competent pedagogy; to document, analyze, and assess the methods of collaborative, participatory, and community-based research used by project researchers; and to mobilize the results of this meta-analysis for the purpose of advancing public policy and programming for reconciliation. This seven-year project is funded by a Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and is hosted at the University of Winnipeg.
