Huronia Chapter - Ontario Archaeological Society

Do archaeological assessment at recycling site, Hunter urges

2012-01-26T16:17:00.000-05:00

By DOUGLAS GLYNN

Jamie Hunter holds a restored Huron pot that was found at a local archaeological excavation

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Huronia museum curator Jamie Hunter this week reiterated his suggestion that a comprehensive archaeological assessment should be carried out before development of a proposed recycling facility at 1001 Franke Kindred Rd.

Hunter made the suggestion to Wes Crown, Midland's director of planning and development, in a letter dated Oct. 28, 2011. The letter was discussed earlier this month at the planning and development committee meeting.

"I would respectfully request that the developer/proponent of the re-cycling plant do a comprehensive archaeological assessment of the property before serious development on the site commences, and as town Planner you do have the ability to see that this takes place," the letter said.

Coun. Pat File said when the re-zoning application was made the committee was told it had been done. "There could be important stuff there," she said.

Crown said his department is committed to the protection of archaeological resources. "We look at every development application. He said the department had relied on a report that had been prepared by Hunter and followed the province's archaeological guidelines.

"There had been a disturbance on the site. There had been a restaurant there," he explained.
Coun. Jack Charlebois said there had been a hydro development on the land. "If they had found something (the project) would have been shut down. There was also a restaurant that disturbed the land. There's been a lot of work done there. We made our decision with the best information available."

In his letter, Hunter noted that the entire area including Midland, Penetanguishene, Tay, Tiny, Springwater, Oro- Medonte, Severn and Orillia have one of the highest densities of archaeological and heritage resources in Ontario.

"While I have tried over the years to impress upon local planners the need for doing archaeological assessments, it seems I just can't get either Upper Tier or Lower Tier municipalities to take this issue seriously, or at least as seriously and methodically as we should, for the preservation of our archaeological and historical resources."
"There are at least 8 archaeological sites including burials that are located within one kilo-metre of Sainte-Marie.
"If I can be of any assistance in any heritage matter please don't hesitate to call. I can give you information on site locations -- not all are on the ministry site files -- and in some cases we can actually tell a developer what to expect and whether they are working in a high potential area or a low potential area," Hunter's letter added.

Crown said that Hunter has been invited to sit on the technical review committee, an invitation Hunter said this week he is pleased to accept.

An application from Recycling Specialties Inc. to re-zone the Franke Kindred Rd. land to industrial zone M2 from highway commercial zone HC so it could build the recycling facility was approved in 2011 following a public meeting at which no objections were raised.

Since then, the Martyr's Shrine and Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons, supported by the Jesuits in English Canada, have registered their objections to the project, The Shrine and Sainte- Marie said they had not learned about the project until after the 30-day period hto launch an Ontario Municipal Board appeal had expired.

The site plan application was to have come before the committee in December for approval. However, a statement released by the town said the company had agreed to delay its application until February to allow the parties time to discuss the matter.

Another documentary on our friend Etienne.

2012-01-23T18:28:00.002-05:00

http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/dossiers/2011/etienne_brule/
We have a tentative booking for our May or June chapter meeting for another presentation on Tiny Township's first European resident.
Rev. Bode has just returned from Pariswhere he made a presentation on Etienne Brule to the Historical Society of Champignysur Marne, the birthplace of our friendEtienne (or Steve, as you wish…).
Stay tuned for confirmation of the date for this presentation - this one I would like to promote to the public.

C.W. Jefferys’ concept of “Re-enactment of Past Experience” for the arrival of French adventurer Étienne Brûlé in Huronia, early 17th century

photo slide show link test

2012-01-22T11:42:00.004-05:00

This is a preliminary test to add more photo resources to the blog.

The link is to my set of Archaeology related photos stored on my flickr account online. If this proves to be a good method, the chapter will look into setting up its own flickr account to store and make available photographs.

slide show link some 50 images

controls for the slide show:

towards the top right of the slide show screen you can select show info which will reveal the caption for each photo as you go through the slide show.
use the options menu also near the top right to change the speed of the slideshow to slow, medium or fast
to view an individual photo outside of the slide show, you have to click on its title -- once you pop out one image you will find when you return to the slide show that you will need to advance the show to the next slide by clicking the next button at the top centre of the screen.

Comments on how useful this sort of photo access is to you would be welcomed, please leave any feedback on this blog post by using the comment feature.

Thanks, Bill Gibson

"8 Weeks in the Nam':"

2012-01-14T11:15:00.000-05:00

Dayle Elder

Dayle Elder has generously agreed to make a presentation as outlined below at our February 9th 2012 members meeting.

"8 Weeks in the Nam':"

The Archaeology of the Namewaminikan River.

The presentation will focus on archaeological researchconducted on the Namewaminikan River and Lake Nipigon from the 1980's until thepresent time, including the work Dayle did this summer on the archaeological sitesTwin Falls I (DkJa-7) and Twin Falls II (DkJa-8).

2000 year old Roman cavalry helmet reassembled

2012-01-11T22:13:00.004-05:00

some one thousand metal fragments have been reassembled to restore a two thousand year old Roman cavalry helmet found in the UK this article has an excellent photo of the helmet

Water Levels in Old Huronia

2012-01-11T17:52:00.000-05:00

As noted in numerous previous posts this past fall, the Martyr's Shrine and Ste. Marie among the Hurons joined forces in mounting a campaign to stop the development of an industrial site that they are concerned would detract from their operations and possibly destroy some sites that relate to Huronia's well documented past. In preparation for this I was asked to provide what information I could regarding sites in the vicinity of this proposed development. As no archaeological assessment had been requested by the Town of Midland I resorted to my database and what ever other documentation at my disposal to assist these historic sites in building their case.

While investigating archaeological and historical sites in and around Ste. Marie among the Huron and the Martyrs Shrine I reviewed "Before and Beyond Sainte Marie" (Friends of Sainte Marie - 1995) and was able to use the research contained within this publication to support the identity and location of numerous sites of interest close to the land in question.
While reviewing this report I came across a section that I had highlighted in earlier research regarding the water level of the Wye River at the time of Ste. Marie (top of page 201). This led me to another report commissioned by the Wye Marsh (Ste. Marie's neighbour on the Wye) regarding the origins of the marsh and the water levels over time. http://www.wyemarsh.com/conservation/pdf/Chittenden-1990-OriginoftheWyeMarsh.pdf

Why water levels matter?
Why should we as historians or archaeologists care about water levels? In the above noted report it concludes that the water level of the Wye River at Ste. Marie was 11 ft. higher than it is now (publication date 1990) and hence all of Lake Huron had a higher water level at the time of first contact.

When looking for landing sites that relate to Champlain, Sagard or the Jesuits or the ports used for trade or the villages that supported these ports and landing spots 11 ft in additional depth of water on an area of now shallow beach with a gradual slope inland can make a significant difference as to where one might look for such a site.

I want to suggest that we need to study this subject further as it is obvious from some of the earliest posts on this blog that some influential thinkers in the historical and archaeological community maintain that the water levels of Old Huronia are essentially the same as they are today.http://www.oashuroniachapter.com/2006/05/canals-and-water-level.html - http://www.oashuroniachapter.com/2006/06/more-on-water-levels.html

Should you have additional documentation in support of either theory please post or make a comment and perhaps we can add the subject to our list of possible presentations for the upcoming year.

January 12th Members Meeting - planning for 2012-15

2012-01-06T18:23:00.000-05:00

Our January meeting will be dedicated to planning for what we wish to accomplish, do or address in 2012.
Some of the subject areas that have come forward to date are:

Mini Symposium on Toanche and its location.
Public Archaeology Day.
Land use Planning workshop for planners, developers and others involved in land use planning.
GPS workshop - GPS technology and its use in archaeology (hands on training workshop)
Advocacy in Ontario Archaeology - Morgan Tamplin OAS Director of Heritage Advocacy
Etienne Brule - A presentation by Christian Bode - member of theSociété d'histoire de Toronto who took part in a documentary on Etienne Brûlé and based on the findings discovered prepared a presentation on Mr Brûlé.

Some projects that we may wish to carry forward are:

The Champlain Project - moving toward 2015.
Archaeology in the schools.
A poster for the 2013 symposium in Windsor.

We will also be looking at our current and future committee structure required to move some of these endevours forward.

Advocacy committee - dealing with short and long term site protection issues.
Champlain Project committee - working towards participation in the planning and development of events and facilities related to the Champlain 400th anniversary.
Archaeology in the Schools - planning a process and resources by which we can deliver archaeological programs in the schools in Huronia.
Symposium 2015 working group - planning for our 2015 symposium starts now.

Should you have other ideas for presentations or events please place your ideas as a comment for addition to the agenda.

See you on the 12th.

The Twelfth Night in Huronia

2012-01-05T15:52:00.000-05:00

Could it be that the French in Huronia celebrated this festive eve with a song or at least a variation on the lyrics of a song we use today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_(song)#Origin
There is a good possibility that the lyrics originated as part of a game from France much earlier than the English version that we are familiar with.The version that I think might have been used here would be;

"La Foi de la loi," and is sung "avec solennite," the sequence being: a good stuffing without bones, two breasts of veal, three joints of beef, four pigs' trotters, five legs of mutton, six partridges with cabbage, seven spitted rabbits, eight plates of salad, nine dishes for a chapter of canons, ten full casks, eleven beautiful full-breasted maidens, and twelve musketeers with their swords.
I can just imagine the French wintering over with the Wendat in Huronia conjuring up the visions that this song might depict. If the "Order of Good Cheer" was adopted here, this might have been one of their favoured past times.

Who Celebrated the New Year in Huronia and When?

2011-12-31T14:30:00.000-05:00

Pope Gregory XIII, Gregorian Calendar comes from him

When one reads the primary source documentation that relates to the First Contact period in the New World it is important to note that these writers used more than one calendar to record events. If the writer was Catholic then events were recorded with dates in the Gregorian calendar; if Huguenot (Protestant) one would most likely have recorded events on dates from the Julian calendar. At this time of year these calendars would be a year and 11 days apart and would not come close to alignment until March 21st when the Julian calendar New Years would take place. The 11 days however would remain an issue. To add to this confusion, the priests would often record an event using the liturgical calendar so one gets references to events taking place on St. Bernard's day or other feast days unique to the Catholic rhythm of life.

As to the First Nations the rhythm of life appears to have been based on the season, the sun and the moon as these were the things that influenced the the hunt and the harvest that the people relied on.

In some Native cultures each full moon had a name and events would be recorded with referring to its proximity to the closest full moon. As to the Native New Year it seemed to vary culture to culture based on the solstice or equinox and how the season was viewed. Was the spring viewed as the time of renewal and hence the New Year or was it the shortest day of the year that signaled winter that brought the year to a close?

As a result of these various references to time and dates there are some recorded events that are quite confusing, to me at least, to place in context when recording what happened to whom where and when.

So to those of you who function using the Gregorian calendar I wish you the best of the season - whatever that season may be.

tablets and ereaders out from under the tree

2011-12-29T16:53:00.001-05:00

If Saint Nick dropped under your Christmas tree a new piece of technology of the tablet or ereader kind, please post about your experiences with these gadgets. Especially if you have a particular archaeological angle, app, or appreciation with them to share.

I know John Raynor received a Kindle. He has set it up as a mobile reference library with Champlain and Sagard texts. I am getting up and running with a Sony E-reader.

I have started experimenting with text documents in MS Word, changing the page size to A6, setting the margins to narrow, and bumping up the font size.
Once saved as a pdf file I bump it over to my reader and that recipe of changes looks well and reads well on the Sony.

What kind of luck or heartache are you having as we step further away from Gutenberg?

Sites in Tay Twp - OMB Review

2011-12-26T18:31:00.001-05:00

I have been informed by the OMB that a Prehearing Conference will be held February 14th 2012 regarding a development on part of lots 12 and 13 Cons 6 and 7 Tay township.
The only site references that I have on my database relates to A F Hunter's site #7 (Vent's site) in his Tay report. This report indicates a landing place at the mouth of the Hogg River that appears to have been used by the Wendat in the 1600's and later by the Algonquin in the 1800's. This site shows up on Hunter's map that accompanied the report and on the A E Jones map of Tay sites in his1908 report.

I plan to go out to the Tay township planning department and refresh my memory on what is planned for this area and remind them of what I have in my records regarding sites that might be in harms way.
Should anyone have additional site data for the area in question please let me know so that I can add it to my database and and advise the township. As I recall, an archaeological assessment was done but when I looked at it I was concerned that it seemed to only included sites on the Ministry's list and these sites were not there.

News From Canada, 1628

2011-12-26T13:46:00.000-05:00

Quebec History. David Kirke - England's Honour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM7U8EnIHfg&feature=share

David Kirke and His Brothers (1597– 1654)
1628–1632
David Kirke was born around 1597 in Dieppe, France, to a family of merchants. He was the eldest of the five sons—followed by Lewis, Thomas, John and James—of Jarvis Kirke, a wealthy trader who conducted business in France and England.
When war broke out between France and England in 1627, King Charles I commissioned David and his brothers to conquer Canada in the name of England. In 1628, the Kirke Brothers made an unsuccessful attempt to take Québec City. The following year, backed by the Company of Adventurers to Canada and better prepared, the Kirkes reappeared on the St. Lawrence River. Incapable of bearing the siege any longer, Champlain surrendered and was forced to leave Québec, which was occupied by the Kirkes until 1632. The signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1632 forced the Kirkes to restore Québec to the French. David Kirke later became governor of Newfoundland and continued to serve the English Crown in this capacity. In the end, Kirke was imprisoned for various reasons and accusations, and died around 1654 while serving his sentence.
When news of the events that took place from 1628 to 1632 reached France, the French-born Kirke brothers were burned in effigy because their actions were considered treason. Years later, the Kirkes were naturalized as English citizens and knighted in recognition of their exploits that led to the occupation of Québec.

It is more than artifacts that come from Huronia.

2011-12-24T13:56:00.000-05:00

Brébeuf

Fr. Jean de Brébeuf came to Canada in 1625 as a missionary, and was sent to the Huron Indians near Georgian Bay in 1626. He learned their language and preached there until 1629, when Québec was captured by the Kirke brothers from Newfoundland (a little-known event in Canadian history), and he went back to France. He returned to live among the Huron again in 1633 . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6IG6F6E5Ac

It was in 1643 that Jean de Brebeuf wrote the "Huron Carol" with his understanding of the Wendat language. The above youtube link will take you to the Wendat version that is then repeated in French and English. This is the first carol written in Canada and also known as "The Moon of Wintertime"

The Huron Carol was written by him in their language, both as gift and to help in his missionary and teaching efforts.. He wrote the words to the music of a 16^th century Carol called "Une Jeune Pucelle" (A Young Maid). Fortunately one of the last Jesuit missionaries to the Huron, Fr. de Villeneuve, wrote the old Huron words to the carol and later translated it into simple French. Fr. Brébeuf's carol was translated to English by Jesse Edgar Middleton, and was included in "The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada" (the ‘Red Book’) in 1971.
On 16 March 1649 Jean de Brébeuf was captured by invading Iroquois and brutally killed. He was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church in 1930.

Acknowledgements:
Text adapted from Kir Shalom, Huron Carol, Canadian Encyclopedia
Image from Canadian Heritage Gallery

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-12-16T14:53:00.000-05:00

taken at Ste. Marie among the Hurons at their First Light event.

Blog Contest - Who was Guillaume Chaudron?

2011-12-16T12:33:00.000-05:00

Q1 -Where did he die?
Q2-When did he die?
Q3-Where might we find his remains?
Q4-What priest was present at his death?

Answers must be posted as comments to this post prior to our next members meeting. The first and most complete response with citations will be judged the winner. Contest is open to members and non members alike. Anyone can post comments on this blog.

Winner will be awarded a 1 year membership at the Huronia Museum - Midland, Ontario.

new look, old look, what the heck

2011-12-13T14:21:00.001-05:00

Yes, for about a month this blog took advantage of a radical new template design offered free of charge by Blogger. There was an earlier post about it, the template was dynamic view.

Trouble was we lost some things by adopting it.   We lost a working search box and our label cloud. What the heck is a "label cloud"?

A label (some blogging hosts interfaces call labels "tags") is a subject term that you manually add to your post to help blog readers find groups of blogs about a particular subject. If your post is about water levels or Ste. Marie II, then you add the labels "water levels" or "Ste. Marie II" to the posts.   The cloud of labels shows any labels that have been used and more importantly, for labels that are used more than one time the size of the label in the cloud is proportionally larger.   Labels used twice are larger than those used once and those like Cahiague or Champlain are huge.   This gives an easy to recognize visual cue as to how much information is on the blog on the that label subject.   If you click the label on the label cloud, the blog changes display to show only the blog posts that have that label. It is very handy.

With dynamic view we lost both these elements. Dynamic view appears to be better suited at least for now to blogs that emphasize posts with one photo and to the latest and greatest posts not the whole posting history of the blog.

We will monitor dynamic view template improvements and see if down the road it is improved and becomes more suited to our kind of blog content. We would llike to use it because it is very cool and enriches the user experience but right now it shortchanges a couple of key user elements that we cannnot lose. So back to the old view.

to see what the dynamic view template looks like see, my experimental blog set up in blogger at this location.   there are six different flavours of the dynamic view with a default setting, when we had this template set up for the Huronia Chapter OAS blog we chose magazine view.

The Huronia Museum needs your help.

2011-12-09T20:50:00.000-05:00

As some of you may know the Huronia Museum lost much of its replicated Huron/Wendat village to a fire in the spring of 2007. After a number of years of negotiation the Museum accepted a settlement from the insurance company that will allow them to rebuild the village the way they want rather than the way it was at the time of the fire.

At a recent meeting of the Museum board the board gave the rebuilding of the village its top priority and appointed a committee to come up with plans to further this endeavour. The board has reviewed a recent plan presented by this committee that would focus on making the component parts of the rejuvenated village as authentic in appearance as possible within all practical standards required of a facility that is open to the public for both educational and tourist purposes. The end result of this proposal would not only enhance the experience of the tourist but add an archaeological educational component that would be available to both students and tour groups alike.
So what does authenticity mean when we attempt to develop an historically accurate and archaeologically supported representation of a multi component Huron/Wendat village that would have encompassed village life from precontact, prehistoric times (circa 1300) through to the Wendat dispersal from Huronia (circa 1650).
One of our first challenges is to determine what type of palisade might best represent this village over time. What does the historical record say - what does the archaeological record verify - what is the most common village palisade footprint found in Huronia. The choices seem to range from a singe palisade wall to up five rows of palisade somewhat more spaced apart. The remainder of the old village has a tight nit single palisade that is more reflective of a European stockade than native village palisade in my opinion but then this may well represent the palisades of the later Huron period after the French influence was had taken root.
Should you be able to help with the research please included historical references that relate to Wendake and archaeological evidence that is from this same geographic area. Your assistance can come in the form of post and or comments on this blog, email to me as you will find in my profile or by regular mail to the Huronia Chapters address. Should you be interested in becoming part of advisory group to the village rebuild committee of the Huronia Museum please let me know.

Huronia Chapter Executive for 2012

2011-12-09T00:03:00.001-05:00

As a result of the elections at our AGM the Chapter's executive for the upcoming year are;

President - John Raynor (jraynor@rogers.com)
Vice President - Jamie Hunter
Secretary - Marg Raynor (mraynor@rogers.com
Treasurer - Kristin Thor

Other positions of note are;

Membership chair - Leslie Ann Thoms

Newsletter - Leslie Ann Thoms

Webpage - Alicia Hawkins

Don't forget to renew your membership for 2012. - http://www.ontarioarchaeology.on.ca/membership.php

Huronia Chapter Annual General Meeting/Pot Luck Social, Dec. 8th

2011-12-04T17:17:00.000-05:00

Annual General Meeting/elections/pot luck social

Huronia Chapter Meeting Dec. 8th, 2011 - 7:00 pm

Huronia Museum, 549 Little Lake Park Road, Midland, Ontario

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=hu

All paid up members (2011) are eligible to be elected to the executive, nominate another member to stand for election or stand for election themselves. Memberships can be paid up at the meeting and will carry over to the 2012 membership year.

The executive is made up of:

President - currently - John Raynor - nominated – John Raynor
Vive President - vacant - nominated - Jamie Hunter
Secretary – currently - Marg Raynor (Marg is quite busy and may wish to move on)
Treasurer – currently – Jamie Hunter – nominated – Kristin Thor

Other appointed positions are:

Membership chair – Leslie-Anne Thoms

Newsletter (The Pot) - Leslie-Anne Thoms

Webpage editor – Alicia Hawkins

Please give consideration as to how you may best serve the chapter (either on the executive or on a committee) and bring your thoughts and or nominations to the meeting. We will be reviewing our past year's efforts and discussing how we may wish to move forward.

It's Time to renew your Membership.

2011-12-04T13:36:00.001-05:00

It is that time of year again when all our memberships expire as of December 31st 2011. When taking a look at our membership records for the purposes of our upcoming AGM on December 8th I noted that our carry over of membership into 2012 is quite light. The best and easiest way to renew your membership or join the OAS and Huronia Chapter for the first time is to do it online and pay for both the Provincial OAS dues and the Huronia Chapter fees all at once. This make for easier membership role tracking and for easier book keeping on everyone's part. One payment - one receipt for your records.

I have inserted below the membership page from the OAS website that explains all the options for joining the OAS or renewing your current membership - best to do it promptly and assist us in keeping all our records straight.
http://www.ontarioarchaeology.on.ca/membership.php
Thanks - and if we do not see you at the AGM on December 8th, have a joyous and safe holiday season and we will see you in the New Year.

2011 a look back

2011-11-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

OAS Huronia Chapter - 2011 a look back

· OAS Huronia Chapter membership has fluctuated 30 members

· with about 50% overall participation in various chapteractivities.

We have had8 members meetings so far this year including a review of our priorities in Januarywhich reprioritized our Champlain 2015 Projectover to a committee.

Presentations at meetings:

·        Dr AliciaHawkins on the Thompson/Walker Huronvillage site,
·        JamieHunter on Council Rock,
·        RudyFecteau on Plants in Archaeology,
·        BryanMacKell regarding Simcoe County’sTrails Master Plan,
·        CatherineSutton on Dr C. J. Tache’s work inHuronia,
·        JanetTurner on the Mnjikaning Fish FenceCircle at Orillia (The Narrows),
·        JamieHunter on Beads from the Ball Site.

Social events:

· pool party,BBQ social in July

· AGM/electionslated for December 8^th with pot luck dinner.

Outdoor Events:

In additionto our regular activities Laurentian U conducted a field school at the Ellerysite and Alicia was kind enough to host an open house to which our members wereinvited to attend.

We alsoattempted to host a public archaeology day but this was not possible due totime constraints and the bureaucratic red tape seemingly unavoidable in suchendeavours.

Communications:

· In supportof our members and their activities we publish a quarterly newsletter titled“The Pot” along with the occasional update called “The Sherd”.

· We have awebpage courtesy of the OAS,

· Our bloghas continued with less member’s participation than we might have hoped for butnone the less gives us a presence online and has stimulated some publicinquiries and information sharing.

Champlain 2015:

· Last year'sfocus on Champlain and the villages he visited in Huronia in 1615 has beenformulated into a funding request that has been submitted to a localfrancophone organization that has a mandate to promote the Champlaincommemoration events slated for 2015.

· In 2015 wehave committed to host the OAS annual symposium.

Consultations:

From ournetworking with the First Nations community we were asked to become involved insome community consultation regarding the installation of a Bell Mobilitycommunications tower that was proposed in an area rich with archaeological andhistorical resources (the Ossossane sites). Following consultation BellMobility agreed to do an archaeological assessment even though not required todo so by Industry Canada who acts as the regulating body for thesetower installations.

The Larger Issue of Protection:

We werealso reminded that even though these sites are designated as National Historicsites, this affords them no protection from intrusion and or destruction.Communities across Ontario have been asked to develop a protocol regardingcommunication towers but seem to be discouraged from asking for seriouscommunity consultation and from what I can see ignore cultural landscapes andany question of archaeological assessments. These issues might well beconsidered for action by the OAS advocacy committee in an effort to further theprotection of archaeological sites in Ontario.

Wye River proposed industrial development:

We havealso been asked for comment on an industrial site development that is close tosome archaeological sites across the river from Ste Marie among the Hurons andvisible from the Martyrs Shrine. This development was not asked to do anarchaeological assessment and it would appear that the question ofhistorical/cultural landscapes was never addressed.

Mnjikaning Fish Fence Circle at Orillia(The Narrows):

Anotherproject that we have been invited to become involved with isthe Mnjikaning Fish Fence Circle and their project to build a bridgeover and an interpretive centre at the Atherley Narrows. This isanother National Historic site that is afforded no protection and is now beingencroached by developments.

All in allthis has been another good year with more potential projects in the works thanactive members to move them forward.

Financial Post letter re waste plant near Ste. Marie and Shrine

2011-11-22T12:54:00.001-05:00

letter to the editor Financial Post by Richard Greene, professor, Department of English, University of Toronto...holy site needs protection from recyclung plant. see http://www.financialpost.com/todays-paper/Holy+ground+Canadians/5747382/story.html

The Word is Spreading - see National Post

2011-11-21T17:36:00.002-05:00

Waste site plans disturb English Canada’s most visited Catholic shrine

Darren Calabrese/National Post

Saint-Marie among the Hurons historical interpreter Larry Ford lights candles in the holy site Church of St. Joseph at the reconstructed Jesuit mission in Midland, Ont. Thursday, November 17, 2011.

Charles Lewis Nov 21, 2011 – 7:56 AM ET

MIDLAND, ONT. — The tens of thousands of pilgrims who make their way to English Canada’s most visited Catholic shrine and holy site could soon have their sense of being on sacred ground shattered by the sound of trucks dumping industrial waste material less than 600 feet away.

The proposed recycling facility would be on the west bank of the Wye River directly across from Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, which is a replica of a French Jesuit mission that lasted 10 years in the early 17th century. While not all visitors come for religious reasons, the village of 30 buildings sits on Jesuit land and includes a key holy site where two French Jesuit priests, later made saints, were buried in 1649.

It is at the grave, which is inside the Church of Saint Joseph, that pilgrims come to kneel and pray where the saints were laid to rest after being tortured to death by the Iroquois.

“The back of the church is quiet and open to the Wye River. This is a holy site and blessed church,” said Jan Gray, general manager of Sainte-Marie, who oversees the site for the province. “If this goes ahead, what the pilgrims will be hearing is a constant jarring sound, the bang of trucks and cranes, back-up beepers and the sound of metal scraping on metal. It’s going to be irritating.”

The church is modelled on what the mission church would have looked like 360 years ago – shaped like a native longhouse with a dirt floor to make it more inviting to the Huron people.

The 3.5-acre site on the opposite river bank is owned by Recycling Specialties Inc. and was rezoned by the town of Midland for industrial use this year. Ms. Gray said no one involved with the Jesuit lands was ever notified about the zoning change because they fell outside the 120-metre radius in which the city was required to give notification.

“We were really disappointed the town did not contact us as part of the process,” Ms. Gray said. “We are the largest tourist attractions in the area and the town is known internationally because of our site. And the reason they come here is because they want to come and experience something they can’t experience in their own backyards. They’re very intrigued with the history of the cultural contact between the Jesuits and the First Nations people.”

Mayor Gordon McKay, who himself was educated by Jesuits, said the town was technically correct in the way it went about the rezoning but now regrets it did not consult with its Jesuit neighbours.

But he said the plant is not yet a fait accompli. The company still must get a site plan approval from the town. He said options include making the waste station an indoor facility, building sound barriers or even cancelling the project.

“This is a region that has lost a lot of jobs, so we need to find ways to build employment.”

The new recycling site would employ 10 to 15 local people, he said.

The Jesuit complex employs a 127 full-and part-time employees and generates roughly $44-million in tourist revenue for the local economy. It attracts 180,000 a year.

Ms. Gray said the town also neglected to require the company to get an archeological assessment. The area has eight archeological sites, she said. Indeed, the graves of the martyrs, Saint Jean de Brébeuf and Saint Gabriel Lalemant, were discovered by a Jesuit archeologist in 1952.

The holy area is actually two sites, split by Hwy. 12 that runs west into Midland, all of which is owned by the Jesuits. On the north side, up on a hill, sits the Martyrs Shrine church, which now contains the remains of the two saints, plus one other saint who was killed in the area. The remains, known as relics to Catholics, contain half the skull of Saint Jean de Brébeuf and small pieces of the other martyrs. Pilgrims come to honour the saints by praying in front of the relics. From the entrance of the church, pilgrims can wind their way down a trail that goes under the highway and along the Wye River and ends up at the back of the Church of Saint Joseph in Sainte-Marie.

Inside Martyrs Shrine church, Father Bernard Carroll, also a Jesuit, points out the ceiling of the church resembles a canoe turned upside down, a way of honoring the Hurons who hunted and fished along the nearby Wye River.

He said praying in front of relics is not much different from the way a great painting grows with value over time or the way in contemporary culture a hockey fan would want to own Bobby Orr’s jersey.

Taking part in adoration in front of the relics is a way of honouring these priests for their sacrifice, he said.

One of the stained-glass windows depicts Saint Jean de Brébeuf with Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, one of the first natives to convert to Catholicism.

The view from the Martyrs Shrine, built in 1925, is not exactly pristine. About 200 metres away are the hulking remains of a former RCA manufacturing factory that used to employ hundreds of local residents. Also at this vantage point, the highway is quite noisy with regular truck traffic.

Fr. Carroll said over time the site has been further encroached by more industrialization but that this new facility is taking it too far, increasing the level of noise and visual pollution.

“This is not just religious site but it’s also part of the area’s heritage,” he said. “It’s such an integral part of the region. We would have wished that they would have recognized the holiness of the site.”

Posted in: Holy Post Tags: Church Of Saint Joseph, Hurons, Larry Ford, Saint Joseph, Wye River

So just what are people searching for when they come to this blog?

2011-11-20T15:13:00.001-05:00

Below are the keyword search words that have brought people to this blog. As we can see from our stats most people know that we exits and search by name (they should probably just bookmark the page). Others are looking for info on people while still others are looking for info on specific villages, Huron pottery and such.

I would have expected keywords like Huron archaeology, Huron/Wendat or Huronia or perhaps Champlain, Sagard or Jesuit. But what we may have set out and seen as our intent is not always the reality of the results.

Search Keywords

huronia chapter oas

106

steve catlin

cahiague

carhagouha

conrad heidenreich

historichuronia.blogspot.com

blogger

steve catlin jesuits

huron pottery

huronia map

Shrine, Sainte-Marie marshal forces in bid to stop recycling plant

2011-11-19T22:28:00.001-05:00

Midland Free Press By DOUGLAS GLYNN

Two of Huronia's major tourist attractions are escalating their campaign to stop construction of a recycling facility on their doorstep.

The Martyrs' Shrine and Sainte-Marie Among the Huron -with the backing of the Jesuits in English Canada -have turned to social media to mobilize public opposition to the facility.

They have created a Facebook page containing a form letter people can sign. The page urges people to join a protest march from the Shrine to Midland town hall on Nov. 30 to deliver the letters.

"Don't spoil the tranquillity and peaceful surroundings of these sites with a noisy and ugly plant -relocate it to a more suitable place in Midland," the form letter urges.

The Shrine and Saint Marie are the largest tourist attractions in the region with more than 180,000 visitors annually, generating an economic impact for the region of $43.8 million and employing more than 127 people throughout the year.

Support for their cause appears to be growing. A public information meeting last week at Sainte-Marie attracted about 50 people, some of them veterans of the battle to stop landfill Site 41.

John Raynor, an avocational archaeologist and local historian, told the meeting that it was a careless move on the town's part not to request an archaeological assessment of the property where the recycling facility will be built.

In an interview afterward, he said there is documented evidence of a half dozen archaeological sites within the area, including a Metis settlement. In the 1800s, there was a plan of subvision registered by a Metis in Tay Township for property in the west half of Lot 16, Concession 3, which is adjacent to the recycling property. The Metis should be contacted., he added.

"To not do an archaeological assessment or request one isn't showing due diligence," he said.

Another person at the meeting suggested contacting the Aboriginal women that were involved in the blockade of Site 41.

An application by Recycling Specialties Inc. to re-zone the property at 1001 Franke Kindred Rd. to industrial zone M2 from highway commercial zone HC so it could build the recycling facility went through without a hitch earlier this year.

At the time, a company a spokesperson said the facility would handle materials from demolition projects.

When there were no objections at the public meeting and no requests for an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing, council waited until after the 30 day period had passed and in April passed a bylaw approving the re-zoning.

The Shrine and Sainte-Marie say by the time they learned about their new neighbour in mid-July, the 30-day period in which appeals to the OMB are allowed had long since lapsed. Besides, they point out, to seek an OMB hearing an applicant must make their objection known, orally or in writing, at the public meeting.

They say they were not notified about the public meeting because the Planning Act only requires a municipality to notify property owners within 120-meter radius of the property for which a land use variance is sought. The Shrine and Sainte-Marie are outside the 120-meter radius.

Town officials say that Ontario Realty Corp. -Sainte-Marie's landlord -was notified of the re-z oning application and did respond in writing.

A copy of the ORC letter obtained by The Free Press said the ORC had no specific concerns with the proposed use, but it recommended the town request that "appropriate operational controls are put in place through the Ministry of the Environment's certificate of approval © of A) process.

"Specifically," the letter said, "impacts on the adjacent provincially-owned lands related to dust, odour, and/or noise should be avoided."

The ORC suggested imposing conditions on the C of A that limit the hours of operation and the type and amount of materials received and processed on site.

The letter went on to recommend that "the appropriate personnel at the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Friends of Wye Marsh be consulted to identify and mitigate any negative impacts on the natural heritage feature and functions of the provincially-owned lands."

Town staff have met with the Shrine, Sainte-Marie, the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre and Infras t r u c t u re Ontario (formerly Ontario Realty Corporation) to discuss their concerns.

According to an October technical review committee report the developer has made significant changes to the site plan in order to address the concerns raise by the Shrine and Sainte-Marie.

The report said the site plan will be revised showing the location and separation distances of the storage containers and outdoor storage piles. In addition, it said, the landscape plan will illustrate the location and details of a noise attenuation fence.

Recycling Specialties Inc. is awaiting approval of the site plan agreement and a Ministry of the Environment certificate of approval before it can begin construction. Efforts were made earlier this week to reach a company spokesman for comment on the latest development, but the call was not returned.

The site plan agreement is scheduled to come before the planning and development committee on Dec. 7. Representatives of the Shrine and Sainte-Marie say they will attend. the meeting.

"This is the wrong location for this type of facility, a very noisy, outdoor and potentially hazardous industrial plant," says Father Bernard Carroll, director of the Martyrs' Shrine.

"The Church of St. Joseph located adjacent to the Wye River contains the original graves of 2 martyred saints and features an open door at the back of the church facing the Wye River and this proposed facility.

"Can you imagine," he asks, "praying at the graves of the martyred Saints with the background noise of truck beepers, air brakes, etc.?"

"People come from all around the world and people come here with an expectation that these sites are somehow respected in terms of what is around them.

"It's just going to be very offensive. It's shame it wasn't thought through beforehand."

Father J. Peter Bisson of Jesuits in English Canada, said people come to Sainte-Marie and go to the graves to pray. "Can you image what it will be like for them to hear a truck going beep, beep, beep, and the other noises emanating from this kind of facility."

Jan Gray, general manager of Huronia Historical Parks, said when the re-zoning was being considered in the spring a Midland staff report identified Sainte Marie as a neighbour, but we were never notified of the public meeting.

She said the noise will have a big impact in terms of the peaceful discussions that take place throughout the whole historic site. Not just for the school children, but for all our visitors who come here from all over the world.

Lawyer Dianne Saxe, who represents the Jesuits in English Canada who own both sites, was asked what options the town has, given that the re-zoning bylaw has been passed?

"First they have the site plan process, which they are dealing with Dec. 7," she said,

"The site plan doesn't determine what can be done on the site, but it does determine how. So they have the right to put in conditions that would, for exam-p le, require all storage to be done indoors; that the doors face away from the two sites and control the direction of traffic.

"They have absolutely the right to change their zoning to something else; to anything else. Council has the right to change the zoning. They can take away the industrial zoning.

"What happens then is the current owner has the right to still apply for a building permit before the zoning changes. The OMB could consider his application."

She was critical of the town for not informing the Shrine or Sainte-Marie about the public meeting.

"They (the town) should have known they needed to give notice to Saint Marie and the Shrine because they are so important.

The criteria of the (Planning) Act is that they should give notice to those likely to be affected. The Legislation gives a minimum notice requirement of 120 meter radius, but you would expect staff to use good judgment and decide if any further notice was necessary."

Gray said that people attending First Light at Sainte-Marie next week will be asked to sign the letter posted on the Facebook page wall. The Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Protect-th e-MartyrsShrineSaint-Marie-Among-the-Hurons/145117268923656? sk=w all

Copies of the letter are also available at the Shrine, St. Margaret's Church, Midland; St. Ann's in Penetanguishene and St. John the Evangelist Parish, Waubaushene.

"Specifically," the letter said, "impacts on the adjacent provincially-owned lands related to dust, odour, and/or noise should be avoided."

The ORC suggested imposing conditions on the C of A that limit the hours of operation and the type and amount of materials received and processed on site.

Town staff have met with the Shrine, Sainte-Marie, the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre and Infras t r u c t u re Ontario (formerly Ontario Realty Corporation) to discuss their concerns.

According to an October technical review committee report the developer has made significant changes to the site plan in order to address the concerns raise by the Shrine and Sainte-Marie.

Recycling Specialties Inc. is awaiting approval of the site

Yukon discovery - Chinese Coin (MACLEANS)

2011-11-19T17:32:00.001-05:00

Made in China, even then

- Nicholas Kӧhler - MACLEANS MAGAZINE Nov. 28, 2011- This summer archaeologists clearing the way for a new mining project deep inthe Yukon interior unearthed a 17th century Chinese coin--providing frthertantatlizing proof of a trade route hundreds of years old linking First Nationspeoples with Chinese markets and seagoing Russian merchants.

Dug up at a traditional lookout spot high above a valley some 200 km north ofWhitehorse, the coin was minted between 1667 and1671 at the Xuanhua garrison,northwest of Beijing, during the reign of the Emperor Sheng Zu of the Qingdynasty. It subsequently travelled across the Pacific then through mountainpasses controlled at the time by the Tlingit First Nations, a passage thatoffers a fascinating glimpse into the business relations binding Russiantraders with both China and Canada's pre-colonial North. those visitingRussians offered First Nations traders such goods as tobacco, glass beads, tea,kettles and coins in exchange for sea otter, fox, beaver ad other pelts, fursthat in turn appeared for sale in China, says James Mooney, an archaeologistwith Ecofur Consulting, who was on the dig that uncovered the coin.

Indeed these coins were common on the northwest coast by the 18thcentury--this is the thrid found in the Yukon--and were often sewn into armourworn by Tlingit warriors. That may explain this coin's unusual punctures, ateach corner of a central square hole, which may have been made to ensure asecurer fit on a tunic. Russian tradersmay not have been the first to arrive here, either: Mooney describes old indigenousaccounts of arrivals wearing long "many-coloured silk" robes, theirheads shaved in the front, the hair on the back "plaited intotresses"--perhaps the Chinese themselves. - Nicholas Kӧhler

Are there any sites under threat here?

2011-11-19T14:36:00.001-05:00

I have been given notice of an OMB Prehearing regarding a housing development on Pt Lot 23 Con 4 Township of Tiny. (NE corner of Con 4 Rd and; Tiny Beaches Road South.) - 44deg.36min.51.4sec.W X 79deg.59min.02.2sec.N If my GPS is at all accurate you migh be able to find it on Google Earth.

My database shows evidence of archaeological sites on lot 20 & 21 (Webb site BdGx-13) and lot 24 (reference to a find on an AF Hunter map). The Webb site report would indicate a trail existed to the NW of this site. This trail would have most likely been the lower end of the ridge trail perhaps used by Champlain on his way to visit the Petun in 1616. This is the same trail that would have run through the Ossossane district and might have run through the subject property on lot 23 con 4 Tiny but no research has been done to my knowledge to find evidence of this trail. The AF Hunter reference on lot 24 indicates stone tools found near a stone quarry to the west of the subject property on land that is now developed.

Based on the evidence that I am aware of at this time I am not planning to attend the Prehearing Conference or present evidence in opposition to the development.. Should others have information that would indicate that there are archaeological sites of interest that might be adversely affected by this proposed development please advise.

Thank you for your attention to this matter;

John Raynor

So what does the archaeological record say?

2011-11-17T19:55:00.001-05:00

As some of you may know that the Huronia Museum in Midland is planning to rebuild the replicated Huron/Wendat village that was partially lost in a fire in May of 2007. The question has arisen as to the what type of palisade was most common on the village sites in classic Huronia.
Were they single row, double, triple or more.
The historical record would seem to indicate that the triple palisade was the most common but what does the archaeology say - what do the village footprints reveal and was there a change over time. If you can help clarify with references to archaeology in classic Huronia please comment.

Nov. 30 Protest March re: proposed industrial site near Ste. Marie and Martyrs Shrine

2011-11-17T10:22:00.001-05:00

posted by Tony Peach on the Martyrs' Shrine facebook page:

"come tothe shrine on nov 30th at noon and walk to the town hall in midland as ademonstration ,to oppose this proposed recycling centre which is going to ruinthe peace and tranquility of the shrine and st marie,both canadian historicalsites.we need as many people as possible ,so please give up some time and letslet midland councilors know how people feel about this proposterous idea.seeyou there.thanks."

Who Knew?

2011-11-13T23:43:00.001-05:00

Below is a post I put on this blog in April of this year - this was the notice regarding the lot where the ossuary was found last week. I was glad to learn that no other archaeologist knew of this site either. it is now in my database.
" I have been notified by the Township of Severn of a pubic meeting take place at the township office April 21st 2011 regarding a proposal for a new 137 lot subdivision on lots 5 and; 6 Con 11, Severn Township (old North Orillia twp).
My database does not show any archaeological sites on these lots. Should anyone have any information regarding sites on these lots please let me know or contact the township directly.
(David Parks, Director of Planning & Development, 705 325-2315 - email- dparks@townshipofsevern.com"

Pedestrian Bridge over the Narrows

2011-11-13T22:43:00.001-05:00

Robert Browne and I attended a public information session in Orillia on November 9th to view the presentation from Shim-Sutcliffe Architects Inc. regarding their conceptual plan for this project. Within this plan is an interpretive centre that was originally planed to interpret the 5000 + year history of the fish weirs at the Narrows. Robert and I have attended a few meets now and suggested that the interpretive centre could also be used to interpret the more recent history of Champlain's visit to the Narrows. After all he was probably the second European to view the fish weirs and the first to record their use by the First Nations present at the time.

The architect was listening and included this as part of her presentation and was quite excited about the possibility of a re-enactment of the Champlain visit along with a First Nation's flotilla going under the bridge at its grand opening.
As part of the chapter's pubic awareness mandate I have asked Robert to monitor the progress of this project and try to ensure that Champlain is appropriately noted at this National Historic site. The current provincial plaque is tuck away under the Hwy 12 bridge where only Geo-Cachers can find it.

Wye River at Hwy 12 - proposed recycling plant

2011-11-12T11:46:00.001-05:00

I added information labels to my photo of this aerial photo that was displayed at the November 10th information session held at Ste. Marie organized by the Jesuits in English Canada (Martyrs' Shrine). The LOT refers to the location of the proposed recycling plant which likely is to handle construction waste materials including metal materials.

image of outdoor recycling plant

- Bill Gibson -

what is construction waste recycling

2011-11-10T16:29:00.001-05:00

FYI the proposed recycling facility proposed for near the west bank of the Wye River near Ste. Marie Among the Hurons and Martyrs' Shrine is for construction waste recycling. This is a term I am not terribly familiar with. The following link sheds some light on the term: link

Nov. 10th 11:30 AM Jesuits in English Canada info session re: Industrial site proposed near Ste. Marie Among the Hurons

2011-11-08T08:20:00.000-05:00

,Midland Town Council is considering approval of an industrial development, a recycling plant, near to the location of Martyrs' Shrine and Ste. Marie Among the Hurons on the west side of the Wye River.

I quote from an email I received about an information session from the Jesuits in English Canada about this proposed development.

November 7, 2011

TheMartyrs’ Shrine is contacting you on behalf of The Jesuits in English Canadaabout a proposed recycling facility to be erected in Midland Ontario at 1001Franke Kindred Rd. (the South/East corner of Hwy 12 and Franke Kindred Rd.)

The Jesuits in English Canada arehaving an open house information session on Thursday November 10^th from 11:30pm -1:00pm at Sainte- Marieamong the Hurons, located at 16164, Hwy 12 East, Midland Ontario, in thefacilities Training Center (light refreshments will be provided). The Jesuits in English Canada are invitingyou to this meeting where we will share information and discuss possibleactions with your help.

Please forward this email on to anypersons, community businesses, stakeholders or partners you feel would beinterested in attending this information session.

On behalf of the Jesuits in EnglishCanada, the Martyrs’ Shrine sincerely thanks you for your attention to thismatter, and we look forward to seeing you at the information session onThursday.

Sincerely,

The Jesuits inEnglish Canada and the Martyrs’ Shrine

16163 Highway 12 W., P.O. Box 7, Midland, Ontario, L4R 4K6

Tel.: (705) 526-3788, Fax: (705) 526-1546

Email: shrine@jesuits.ca

Web: www.martyrs-shrine.com

I took a series of photographs standing on the trail at the steel railroad bridge that crosses Hwy 12 on the west side of the Wye River. This is alongside the NE corner of the lot where the proposed plant would stand. The two shots of Ste. Marie were taken further east along the trail from the bridge over the Wye River which is about 100 yards from the lot.

Orillia Packet Times - Huron remains identified

2011-11-07T22:40:00.002-05:00

Remains identified as Huron

By MIRANDA MINASSIAN, Orillia Packet Times

The aboriginal remains found in Cumberland Beach have been identified as Huron, says the leader of Rama First Nation.

"We are given to understand that they are of Huron descent," Chief Sharon Stinson Henry said Monday.

"The ministry has taken charge and will be notifying the Huron leaders."

The remains of several aboriginal people were discovered Wednesday morning during the servicing of the West Shore Beach Club at the corner of Turnbull Drive and Third Avenue, on the former Bramshott Farm in Severn Township.

As the nearest First Nation to the burial, Rama First Nation was notified of the discovery.

"We, of course, offered to work co-operatively with the Huron," Stinson Henry said.

"We want to ensure that the remains are treated with dignity and respect."

An investigation into the findings is being completed by the Ministry of Consumer Service Cemeteries Regulation Unit.

Stinson Henry said she is confident that the appropriate measures and care have been taken to date to ensure the remains have been respected and preserved, she said.

"I think everyone feels the same way, that it is a very important process to ensure that the remains are dealt with with respect," Stinson Henry said.

Archeologists have been on-site since Friday, identifying the remains.

Once the archeologist determines the origin and extent of the burial site, Huron First Nations representatives and the land owner must come to an agreement about final disposition of the site and the remains, as outlined in the Cemeteries Act.

Orilllia Museum moving to library? Orillia Packet Times

2011-11-07T22:36:00.001-05:00

Museum moving to library?

By SARA ROSS, Orillia Packet Times

The Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH) could be moving into the new Orillia Public Library.

"Given the space needs of OMAH, and the space available at the library building, moving OMAH to the new building appears to be a reasonable solution in the short to intermediate term if OMAH is amenable to such a move," states a staff report.

On June, 27 council requested a staff report dealing with the optimization of city-owned building assets.

This report will be discussed by council committee Monday night.

The report recommends, "council consider recommending locations for the Orillia Museum of Art and History other than the Sir Sam Steele building."

It also recommends that "council considers uses for the library building space which would be complementary to the primary library use."

It suggests OMAH will be able to increase programming and in turn increase museum revenue if it moves to the library.

At some point in the future as Orillia grows, a long-term solution will need to be developed for OMAH, the report adds.

If OMAH moves into the library, the Sir Sam Steele building, a heritage-designated building, could be sold, it states.

The report says Orillia will receive approximately $630,500 from the sale.

Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton will be making an announcement at OMAH on Wednesday. The details of this announcement will not be made public until then.

OMAH has applied for a Canada Cultural Spaces Fund grant that will allow it to expand the museum to the unused upper levels. The museum has also applied for a $50,000 Enabling Accessibility Fund grant for an elevator.

The space optimization report examined eight city-owned properties.

Staff also recommend selling 150 Front St. S., the former CN Station currently used by the Chamber of Commerce and licence bureau.

The Mount Slaven School property could also be surplused and sold, the report states.

Martyrs’ Shrine - looking for support - Thursday November 10th

2011-11-07T20:31:00.002-05:00

The industrial site that is of concern here is within sight of the Shrine and across the river from Ste. Marie yet no archaeological assessment was requested by the Town of Midland. There are at least 3 Bordenized sites within a km of this property along with a number of other recorded sites including a Metis town-site and some burials.

Martyrs’ Shrine

The National Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs

November 7, 2011

The Martyrs’ Shrineis contacting you on behalf of The Jesuits in English Canada about a proposedrecycling facility to be erected in Midland Ontario at 1001 Franke Kindred Rd.(the South/East corner of Hwy 12 and Franke Kindred Rd.)

TheJesuits in English Canada are having an open house information session on Thursday November 10^th from11:30pm -1:00pm at Sainte- Marie among the Hurons, located at 16164, Hwy 12East, Midland Ontario, in the facilities Training Center (lightrefreshments will be provided). TheJesuits in English Canada are inviting you to this meeting where we will shareinformation and discuss possible actions with your help.

Pleaseforward this email on to any persons, community businesses, stakeholders orpartners you feel would be interested in attending this information session.

Onbehalf of the Jesuits in English Canada, the Martyrs’ Shrine sincerely thanksyou for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to seeing you at theinformation session on Thursday.

Sincerely,

The Jesuits in English Canada andthe Martyrs’ Shrine

16163 Highway 12 W., P.O. Box 7, Midland, Ontario, L4R 4K6

Tel.: (705) 526-3788, Fax: (705) 526-1546

Email: shrine@jesuits.ca

Web: www.martyrs-shrine.com

Blog redesign - dynamic views added

2011-11-06T14:58:00.001-05:00

Don't freak out but the blog looks a lot different with new design. We are test driving it and can go back to the old way. Please try it out a little.

You are not limited to one view of the information about blog posts.

See the tabs near the top to the left, one is titled PAGES and the other has the name of the current DYNAMIC VIEW (Classic, Flipcard, Magazine, Mosaic, Timeslide, Sidebar, or Snapshot.

Click DYNAMIC VIEW to select one of the available views.
Try them all, but I recommend Mosaic or Magazine. But you may favour one of the other views.

Use PAGES to select one of the group of static pages that were visible in the old design running down the right side column.

Send feedback/comments/words of delight/screams of pain and suffering all from the new design using dynamic views to jraynor@rogers.com

thanx
Bill Gibson, the guy tinkering under the hood of the blog with an old monkeywrench.

Some interesting developments in Orillia.

2011-11-06T12:24:00.000-05:00

Ossuary won’t halt plans: developer

By MIRANDA MINASSIAN

Updated 1 day ago

The discovery of First Nation remains, believed to be hundreds of years old, won't stop developers from moving forward with a multi-million dollar gated community in Cumberland Beach.

Summerhill Homes plans to go ahead building the 78-unit West Shore Beach Club once the remains are dealt with according to the law, said the developer in charge of the project.

"We are absolutely continuing on; we just have to hold off," developer Brian Ellis said. "Out of respect, you have to make sure the (authorities) come and certify that the area is cleaned up.

"These (bones) are like hundreds and hundreds of years old," he added. "You always have to follow policy with that kind of stuff. You don't fool around with that kind of thing."

The remains were discovered in Severn Township Wednesday morning during site preparation for the project, located at the corner of Turnbull Drive and Third Avenue, on the former Bramshott Farm.

An investigation is currently being conducted with Michael D'Mello, a registrar from the Ministry of Consumer Service, Cemeteries Regulation Unit, and archeologists, hired by Summerhill, who are looking to determine the origin and extent of the burial.

"The site appears to be an ossuary containing several aboriginal remains. The registrar has notified the appropriate First Nations communities of the discovery," Sue Carroll, spokesperson for the ministry, wrote in an email to The Packet Friday.

She could not confirm which First Nation the remains belonged to.

While Summerhill currently has pre-servicing draft approval for their project, the final OK to start developing the homes won't be given until the proper authorities sign off on how the remains are dealt with, said David Parks, Severn's director of planning.

"We are here to make sure that the regulations of the Cemeteries Act are followed to the tee," Parks said. "That may include altering their original plans."

Once the archeologist determines the origin and extent of the burial site, the First Nations representatives and the land owner must come to an agreement about final disposition of the site and the remains, as outlined in the Cemeteries Act.

"The site may be established as a cemetery or the remains may be re-interred in an existing cemetery, in accordance with the decisions made in the Site Disposition Agreement by the parties involved," wrote Carroll.

More than $3 million has been invested by Summerhill, in land purchase and plan developments, to date, Parks estimated, with tens of millions more planned in investment.

"It is not unusual, if you check history of development, you'll find that (finding remains) happens all the time," said Ellis. "That is actually quite normal in the Muskoka or Orillia area. It is not unusual at all."

mminassian@orilliapacket.com

I took a road trip over to the site with Marg and Gary late Friday afternoon and the security guard informed us the ASI was the CRM on site. I am not sure if this is a new site or one that is already known about but it dose not show up in my database so it is new to me. I am not sure if an archaeological assessment was done or requested for this subdivision (one may have been done and the burials missed) but it is interesting to note that the developer has stared to dig the ground before final approvals were given?

Recogntion for Charles Garrad

2011-11-01T15:05:00.001-04:00

Archeologist honoured by Wyandotte

By QMI AGENCY

Posted 3 hours ago

A recent trip to the United States to deliver a speech ended with an unexpected honour for a local archeologist.

Charles Garrad was named 2011 Honoured Person by the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma and Wyandotte Nation of Kansas -- native people who originated in the Blue Mountains and were once known as the Petun.
Garrad has spent a big part of his life researching the Petun, who lived in this area and are the ancestors of the Oklahoma and Kansas Wyandotte nations. Garrad initiated the archeological searches in The Blue Mountains that uncovered village settlements and life history of the gentle Petun dating back 4,000 years. The Petun left the area and dispersed after being nearly wiped out by the Iroquois, ending up as the Wyandotte in Kansas and Oklahoma.
Garrad recently published a book on his life's research.
Garrad's wife Ella says he has given his life to this project, which he started documenting on an old manual typewriter many years ago, eventually updating it on a computer -- which helped in bringing the information together for the 700- page book.
On Sept. 1, the couple traveled to the States with plans to visit Wyandotte friends and family members who have adopted and welcomed him over the years. During the 10-day visit, the Garrads planned to visit the Kansas City Cemetery, deliver the talk on Garrad's research, and attend a Pow Wow in Kansas City.
In Kansas he was surprised to see that a write-up and map he had submitted has been cast in bronze plaques at the Kansas City Cemetery telling the story of the Wyandotte.
At his lecture, he was presented with a plaque naming him Honoured Person 2011 -'For the many Years of Dedication to Preserve, Educate and Protection of All Wyandotte Ancestors in the Homeland'. The presentation was made by Chief Billy Friend and Second Chief Norman Hildebrant.

Nov. 10th meeting - Jamie Hunter on Beads from the Ball Site

2011-10-25T19:07:00.001-04:00

Jamie Hunter, curator of the Huronia Museum, will present a slide show of beads from the Ball Site, explaining the type of beads and the metaphorical and symbolic meaning of the colours for the Huron/Wendat.

Huronia Museum, 7 PM Thursday November 10th, 2011, Midland, Ontario

The presentation portion of the chapter meeting, Hunter's talk, is open to the public. It will be followed by the chapter's business meeting which is open only to chapter members.

AIA National Archaeology Day Oct. 22nd

2011-10-20T12:11:00.000-04:00

Archaeological Institute of America - National Archaeology Day
National Archaeology Day is a celebration of archaeology and the thrill of discovery. Throughout the month of October and on October 22 in particular, the AIA and its societies throughout the United States and Canada will present archaeological programs and activities in over 100 cities for people of all ages and interests. Whether it is a family-friendly archaeology fair, a guided tour of a local archaeological site, a simulated dig, a lecture or a classroom visit from an archaeologist, the interactive, hands-on programs presented by the Institute and our societies will provide you with the chance to indulge your inner Indiana Jones.

Supporting Organizations: African Burial Ground National Monument, American Anthropological Association, American Research Center in Egypt, American Schools of Oriental Research, Bowers Museum, Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology, Florida Public Archaeology Network, Getty Villa, Google Earth, Society for American Archaeology, Society for California Archaeology, Society for Historical Archaeology, Study Egypt Events, Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, World Archaeological Congress

http://www.archaeological.org/NAD

photography accessory - might be useful and not too pricey

2011-10-18T16:03:00.002-04:00

Getting your camera in close to photograph small artifacts or small areas of the ground or area of an excavation can be difficult and when really close you can create a shadow from the camera itself. Ring lights have been around for awhile going back to the good old film days. Recently I have been trying to improve my macro photography bag of tricks especially for photographing very small objects like glass beads. In poking around the net looking for macro lenses of the AF kind I found this item on Amazon.ca:

Polaroid Digital Macro 16 LED Ring Light for Canon EOS, Nikon, Sony Alpha, Olympus & Pentax Digital SLR Cameras (Includes 49/52/55/58/62/67/72mm Adapters)

I recently ordered one of these and paid $29.95. It is a light not an electronic flash unit. It is powered by 4 AAA batteries and has a power switch on the back of the unit. It comes with a variety of adapters to fit various lenses. (My old manual Tamron Macro 90mm f2.5 lens has a 55mm filter size for example, while most Nikon lenses are 52mm filter size.)

http://www.amazon.ca/Polaroid-Digital-Olympus-Cameras-Adapters/dp/B005FRI3IE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318967212&sr=8-1

I find the light to be amazingly bright and my few test shots to date have turned out well. So consider treating yourself or your friendly archaeologist on your Christmas Shopping list to this photo gadget, it might be very, very helpful.

OAS Symposium - Day 1 & 2 a student volunteer view.

2011-10-14T22:41:00.002-04:00

Today, (October 14, 2011) was the second day of the OAS Symposium in Ottawa, On. This years theme is "Waterways through Time." Unfortunately, I missed yesterdays free lecture due to time constraints from travelling. Thankfully, I made it today with good time and had an interesting volunteering start! The venue this year is the beautiful City of Ottawa building on Laurier Ave. When I first entered the hallway containing the symposium I was greeted by Lois. Such and interesting woman! I was assigned to assist with setup of the silent auction-let me tell you folks, there are at least 6 tables of some amazing things to bid on. After the set up was complete, I was fortunate to meet Lorie Harris the Executive Director of the OAS. I assisted her by manning the "SWAG" table as it has come to be known. I'm proud to say, I sold some great OAS goodies.

This evenings free public lecture was very interesting. It was titled "The History of Lebreton Flats: A Bifocal View" and was spoken by : Phil Jenkins (author) & Hugh Daechsel (archaeologist). Both men were easy and interesting to listen too. I really had no idea what the history of Lebreton Flats entailed, so I am glad I could be present for it. Phil and Hugh both injected the right level of 'funny' into their talks which kept people interested. Phil sang about the Great Fire of 1900, which I think really helped with the visual for many people.

I must sign off for now - two lectures and a lot of volunteering tomorrow! If I can, I'll try to post twice.

LA.

Studying old bones — preservation or perversion? Toronto Star

2011-10-09T13:50:00.000-04:00

link on next line

Studying old bones — preservation or perversion?

"The Huron-Wendat Nation is demanding that Louisiana State University return the “stolen” remains of about 200 people. They say researchers improperly gathered the bones from an Ontario ossuary to use for unauthorized student research."

this article is worth a reading since it deals with the following topics:

Poole-Rose ossuary near Cobourg
repatriation of remains
Ontario Cemeteries Act
The Feast of the Dead
University of Toronto

The newsletter of the OAS is cited in the article as well.

Toronto Star article on archaeology and development in Mexico

2011-10-09T13:36:00.000-04:00

Earthscraper article by Leslie Scrivener

Mexico
land development uncovering Aztec artifacts
museums built to house artifacts
design innovation to build down rather than up, 300 metres down "earthscraper" rather than a skyscraper, which has captured architects' interest around the world.

Agatha Christie quote "archaeologist"

2011-10-07T13:44:00.000-04:00

Every woman should marry an archaeologist because she grows increasingly attractive to him as she grows increasingly to resemble a ruin.

Huronia Chapter’s Presidents Report for OAS Symposium in Ottawa October 13th – 16th 2011

2011-10-03T20:38:00.002-04:00

As inprevious years the Huronia Chapter membership has fluctuated between 25 – 30members with about 50% overall participation in various chapter activities.

We have had8 members meetings so far this year including a review of our priorities in atthe first of the year and as a result put our Champlain Project over to acommittee. We had presentations from Dr Alicia Hawkins on the Thompson/WalkerHuron village site, Jamie Hunter on Council Rock, Rudy Fecteau on Plants inArchaeology, Bryan MacKell regarding Simcoe County’s trails masterplan, Catherine Sutton on Dr C J Tache’s work in Huronia, Janet Turner on the Mnjikaning Fish Fence Circle.We also held a pool party, BBQ social in July and have our AGM/election slatedfor December. In addition to our regular activities Laurentian U conducted afield school at the Ellery site and Alicia was kind enough to host an openhouse to which our members were invited to attend. We also attempted to host apublic archaeology day but this was not possible due to time constraints andthe bureaucratic red tape seemingly unavoidable in such endeavours.

In supportof our members and their activities we publish a quarterly newsletter titled“The Pot” along with the occasional update called “The Sherd”. We also have awebpage courtesy of the OAS doing the web hosting. Our blog has continued withless member’s participation than we might have hoped for but none the lessgives us a presence online and has stimulated some public inquiries andinformation sharing.

Last year'sfocus on Champlain and the villages he visited in Huronia in 1615 has beenformulated into a funding request that has been submitted to a localfrancophone organization that has a mandate to promote the Champlaincommemoration events slated for 2015. This is also the year that we havecommitted to host the OAS annual symposium.

As a resultof our networking with the First Nations community we were asked to becomeinvolved in some community consultation regarding the installation of a BellMobility communications tower that was proposed in an area rich witharchaeological and historical resources (the Ossossane sites). As a result BellMobility agreed to do an archaeological assessment even though not required to doso by Industry Canadawho acts as the regulating body for these tower installations. We were alsoreminded that even though these sites are designated as National Historicsites, this affords them no protection from intrusion and or destruction.Communities across Ontario have been asked to develop a protocol regardingcommunication towers but seem to be discouraged from asking for seriouscommunity consultation and from what I can see ignore cultural landscapes andany question of archaeological assessments. These issues might well beconsidered for action by the OAS advocacy committee in an effort to further theprotection of archaeological sites in Ontario.We have also been asked for comment on an industrial site development that isclose to some archaeological sites across the river from Ste Marie among theHurons and visible from the Martyrs Shrine. This development was not asked todo an archaeological assessment and it would appear that the question ofhistorical/cultural landscapes was never addressed.

Anotherproject that we have been invited to become involved with is the Mnjikaning Fish Fence Circleand their project to build a bridge over and an interpretive centre at the Atherley Narrows. This is another NationalHistoric site that is afforded no protection and is now being encroached bydevelopments.

All in allthis has been another good year with more potential projects in the works thanactive members to move them forward.

RespectfullySubmitted;

John Raynor

President

HuroniaChapter of the OntarioArchaeological Society.

A Student's View of Archaeological Field Investigations

2011-09-30T17:23:00.003-04:00

The Ellery Site (BdGx -8), and The Dorion Site (BeGw-9) May24 to June 30, 2011

Under the direction of instructor,Alicia Hawkins, of Laurentian University, and three teaching assistants (T.A.s),twelve students attended the field school for five weeks, then we moved to the universityto start lab analysis and take tests on skills learned. The purposes of the course were to teachpractical field procedures, as well as to investigate a potential 15th century Wendatsite close by a known 17th century Wendat site, dug in 2008 by Laurentianstudents under Hawkins's direction. It was speculated that this location was theformer Jesuit site of Saint Michel.

"Week five" of field workwas spent at the Dorion Site, as discussed separately in this article.

Both Wendat sites, were located at,or close to the brow of a ridge, facing south, with water found in the valleybelow. The fenced farm is on the Old Second Line North, about two km NNW of OrrLake, in Simcoe County, with sufficient space for privatetenting, common cooking and work tents, and privies. At the 15th century Wendatsite, field work included digging 16 test units by trowel in an area of youngsugar maple trees, located approximately 300 metres from the camp site at theabandoned Ellery farm.

Students were sent in advancepractical information on many aspects of archaeological field work, such as regulations,standards for digging, recording procedures, relevant histories of past digs onthe sites: enough material to fill a 50 mm binder. The material is indispensible.

Before starting work on the site,students were taught how to trowel, how to lay out test units onlevel and sloping ground, using basic equipment. The second day after further instruction, wewere taken into the Wendat sites by common trails and a former road. Periodic grid points had already been laidout that covered both sites, all referenced from 0N, 0W, located remotely fromthe southeast corner of the Ellery property due to the presence of poisonivy. Our orientation, once in the bush, wasat first somewhat confusing until explained. Each 1 m x 1 m test unit was identified relative to the overall grid at itsSW corner. One test unit selected fordigging included a tree-fall, as their root systems disrupt the earth, possiblybringing up more artefacts closer to the surface. Teams were established, witha T.A. leading each, and individual test units assigned. Often team memberswould be reassigned, in order to gain the maximum variety of skills. Actual digging began on the third day.

Weather and site conditions werevariable: rocky ground where we tented;cold, heat, sun, rains, heavy morning dew, severe wind storms, even hail once,insects, and finally spiky Hawthorn bushes at the Dunlop Site. A family of racoons occupied the farm house.

Students and T.A.s kept daily logsto record activities, and to include drawings of notable features. These wouldbecome part of the body of information for Hawkins when she would prepare herfinal report for the government. The workday began near 9 a.m., and ran to about 5 p.m., when people would return tocamp. The assigned cook's team wouldprepare supper, make breakfast the following morning, and lay out food stuffsfor everyone to make their own lunches, to eat on site.

Aside from digging, dry-screening onsite, wet-screening at the farm next door in the evenings (all screens had1/8"-mesh whether a shaker-screen or a smaller hand-screen), and updatingour log-books, we also learned how to do basic surveying with different equipment,mapping using a 1:50,000 map to measure distances, draw land profiles, andlocate positions using either the Lat./Long. system or the U.T.C. system. Theseexercises provided breaks from our digging work.

We had a variety of visitors whotold us about different aspects of practical archaeology: two representativesfrom the Ministry of Tourism and Culture talked about the processes ofobtaining permits to do digs; two people came from URS, who hire archaeologiststo do contract archaeology work; an archaeologist who was a soils specialist,who talked about the layers of earth below the topsoil and "A" level,and their importance on some projects (he arrived between two majorwind/rain/hail storms so our visit to the gravel pit was most opportune as waterwas running freely out from each layer into the pit); a forensic police officercame to talk about her work, and the parallels she faces to what archaeologistsdo - a little gruesome, but very educational. We made trips to a historic site,Ste. Marie among the Hurons, andattended a meeting of the Huronia Chapter, OAS, at the Huronia Museum inMidland, to hear a Ph.D. candidate talk about Charles Joseph Taché, a19th century man from Quebec who had a strong interests in the Church,politics, governemnt, and the history of the Wendats who had left Huronia andsettled neared Quebec City. He named their settlement Loretteville,which remained in use until a very few years ago, when the name was changed to Wendake.

Of special significance were two FirstNation visitors from Wendake, QC,and the Wyandotte First Nation near Detroit. They spoke of their respective histories whenwe met them at Ossossane, as well as at the Ellery dig site the day before.

At the end of the fourth week wehosted a "family day", when guests came to see what artefacts we hadfound, play aboriginal games, see demonstrations of our skills, and tour thedig site.

"Week five" was different.We had a student exercise to examine reports of the Dunlop Site, (BeGw-9), locatedabout 10 km away, and to decide how to extend the preliminary investigationsfurther, Due to time restraints, there were only four days available for thissite work.

The purpose was to determine if thissite was worthy of a full investigation at a future date. Reports from AHunter, 1902; F. Ridley, 1968; and A. Dorion, 2008 (an undergraduate thesisreport), were reviewed. It wasdetermined that students would first locate Dorion's centre point (our 0N, 0Wpoint), then dig test pits with shovels at 5 m spacing, in three rows to north,east, south and west from this location. In contrast Dorion had dug test pitsparallel to (and at right angles to), the road nearby, about 35˚ northwestof the North-South meridian axis. Thus,with our work, there would be an irregular, eight-spoke "wheel" oftest pits (and later added, four test units), located on the site.

Using a GPS, the centre of Dorion'sfindings was located, and a test pit dug, The amount of artefacts found immediatelywarranted digging a 1 m x 1 m test unit. Due to the concentration of findingsin test pits, a 1 m x 1 m test pit was also dug at 85S, 05W, which provedfruitful. Similarly, on the east leggood findings were found in test pits, but on digging 2 - 50 cm x 50 cm testunits no further material was found. Test pits were extended in each direction forseven holes past the last one to unearth an artefact. A short set of test pitswas dug to the west from the second test pit mentioned above, withoutsuccess. In all, 248 test pits were dug.Pits were measured to be approximately 30 cm in diameter, and 25.0 cm deep +/-5.9 cm.

As recorded in our subsequentStudent Report, a total of 3826 g of artefacts were found, including a greatvariety of pottery, clay pipe fragments, iron fragments, copper fragments,various shapes and sizes of beads made from glass, clay and wood, a variety offaunal remains, both fish and mammal, and carbonized floral remains of corn,squash and charcoal. Tools included aprojectile point and netting needle. All findings suggested that this site wasa post-contact, Wendat site.

At the conclusion of the fourth day,the test units were filled in, as had the test units had been when dug. For the final test unit, a traditionalceremony of words, and tobacco were given, along with a 2011 coin placed in thebase of the pit to mark our presence there.

We went to the Thompson-Walker site,to see the "Feast of the Dead" site near the road.

On the final day of this week weremained at the Ellery Site, to also close up all test units. Gravel had to be hauled from the gravel pitto bring in sufficient material. In closing the final unit, more words werespoken, along with the offering of tobacco, a 2011 coin, and laments sungbeautifully.

During "Week six", spent inSudbury, studentsprepared a report that recommended an elliptical shape for furtherinvestigation of a possible village settlement at the Dorion Site. The ellipse wouldbe oriented to the southeast from our original 0N, 0W point (also Dorion's 2008centre point), as the northwest end, then measuring 85 m to the south, 75 m tothe east, and 166 m to the southeast. This size and shape generally coincidedwith that suggested by Ridley, 1968; and Ramsden, 1990. It was expected thatmiddens generally would be located outside the perimeter of a settlement. The student report included a site map showingall of our test locations. The balance of the week was taken up with a G.I.S.class, lab analysis, and completion of the Dorion Site analyses for the studentreport. Various tests of learned skills were given.

We had become a cohesive team, whichwas celebrated with a potluck dinner at Lizette Frappier's home, followed by adinner on the final evening at a local restaurant.

N.B. Some members of the team participated in writing up a report on theDorion Site work. It has been acceptedfor publication in Arch Notes.

Robert Browne,student.

Old Print into Searchable Text

2011-09-24T16:30:00.002-04:00

I will add a brief post here and leave the heavy lifting for John Raynor to detail a few small projects in progress by some chapter members....

Background

there is a lot of information that was printed on paper in the past on archaeology, typeset and typewritten, and in some cases later photocopied
more value and wider use of this information becomes readily available once it moves into a searchable digital character-based form

Ways to move it that we are experimenting with:

OCR scan
retyping

OCR Scan: Last year I bought a $50 four in one wireless printer which had a software bundle which included a Optical Character Recognition software capability. How this works is quite simple, Put your printed page on the glass of the scanner. Select the function scan to text file. Press Scan start. And the scanner printer sends the digital file to your wireless connected PC and opens a WordPad file inserts the text. Takes about three seconds. The caveat is it is not one hundred per cent accurate. It can get confused by smudged copier quality, or uneven typewriter letter blackness, etc. My particular testing which is just prelimary was an old piece of my writing that was printed out of either a daisy wheel printer or dedicated word processor printer from around 1985. In three pages of text it missed about five characters and created homonyms, which need to get caught by proofreading ("hail" mistaken for "hall").

Retyping: someone reads the document and types it directly word for word into a new word processing file. There will be typos and other errors to catch in proofreading.

Sagard

there is a Sagard text that has been retyped. I will stop my post here and let John pick up the story since he knows all the details about this effort.

More from the Powell Collection

2011-09-22T21:26:00.000-04:00

Bill Gibson was kind enough to enhance the photo of the beads that are part of the Powell Collection found in the Ossossane district of Old Huronia. The blue glass cut glass beads are of particular interest to me. I assume that they are Rosary beads, not trade beads like the coloured tube bead also included in the photo but I would like some additional input from those with more knowledge of trade beads and or Rosary beads than I have.

What do you think these blue cut glass beads are from?

BTW - It would appear that the Bell Cell tower that was proposed for the lot where this collection was found is on hold and will most likely now become part of a new Rogers tower that has been erected 4 km to the south of this site. Good news for the archaeology of Ossossane and the cultural landscape of the district.

2011-09-07T18:03:00.001-04:00

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Ontario Historical Society Launches
Online Heritage Directory
Andrea Izzo, Coordinator of Communications, OHS
Originally appeared in OHS Bulletin Summer 2011 (No. 179)

For Immediate Release | September 6, 2011 | Willowdale, Ontario

The Ontario Historical Society (OHS) is excited to announce a new online service: The Ontario Heritage Directory Online,
a free database resource that will connect Ontario’s heritage community, tourists and researchers at www.ontariohistoricalsociety.ca.

The Ontario Heritage Directory Online features a database of over 1,600 heritage organizations, heritage sites, museums, archives,
First Nations Councils and Municipal Heritage Committees in Ontario. The Society encourages you to explore your local heritage sites to learn more!

In preparation for the bicentennial of the War of 1812-14, any organizations, historic sites and museums
celebrating bicentennial-related events, exhibits or publications will be highlighted with a War of 1812 icon.

The online Ontario Heritage Directory features an updating tool that allows organizations to keep their contact information current.
Users of the directory can select the “Keep this record up to date” feature and submit any change of address, email address, etc.

The Society would like to acknowledge the support and contribution of The Ontario Heritage Connection Society (OHC)
and its Board of Directors. The OHC was established in 2002 with a mandate to serve as a network for the exchange of information about Ontario’s culture, history,
built heritage, archaeology and natural environment. It launched its website, featuring a Heritage Connections database soon after. The OHC excelled in fulfilling its
mandate and in March 2011, signed a mutual agreement transferring the assets of the OHC to The Ontario Historical Society.

The Ontario Historical Society would also like to acknowledge the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture through the Museum and Technology Fund.

-30-
The Ontario Historical Society34 Parkview Ave. Willowdale, ON M2N 3Y2 | 416.226.9011
www.ontariohistoricalsociety.ca| ohs@ontariohistoricalsociety.ca

Copyright © 2011 Ontario Historical Society, All rights reserved. Provincial Heritage Organizations Our mailing address is: Ontario Historical Society 34 Parkview Willowdale, Ontario m2n 3y2 Add us to your address book
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Student Volunteers - $ave on registration

2011-09-06T20:31:00.000-04:00

Hello OAS chapters!

We hope we will see many of your members at this year's symposium here in Ottawa. We would also like to encourage interested students to attend.
I will be organizing volunteers for the symposium. If you know of any full-time student who could be encouraged to come, please ask him/her to contact me. We have a budget item to waive basic registration cost for students in exchange for 3 hours' volunteer time.
Thank you,
Lois King

613 297 1506

loisaking at hotmail.com

They Don't Make them Like They Used To

2011-09-03T23:45:00.001-04:00

Marg and I visited the D'aoust farm on lot 15 Con 7 Tiny (one farm east of the Powell farm on lot 16) in order to view their collection of artifacts and talk to them about what else might be of interest on their property. Mr D'aoust proudly brought out his "tomahawks". As can be seen, the trade axe with the handle is still in use and has been sharpened recently. This axe has also been used as a hammer and the back of the collar is now flat. both of these axes have markings similar to those in the "Powell Collection". 350 years + and still in use.
We are looking forward to going back for a visit and exploring the property a little further.

A Search for Ossossane and its Environs,

2011-09-02T23:43:00.000-04:00

I am looking for a copy of Frank Ridley's 1947 paper "A Search for Ossossane and its Environs" (preferably in an electronic - searcable format). I have a referance to an archaeological site on the S 1/2 of lot 15 Con 7 Tiny twp with a notation that it was found during a surface survey that Ridley made in 1947. I am hoping to find this reference in this paper - I read it somewhere or perhaps made a typo error when entering the info into my database. Any help here would be appreciated as the current property owner wants to meet an talk about his collection and the potential for archaeological resources on his property.
Thanks;
JR

National Historic Sites open to destruction.

2011-09-02T23:13:00.000-04:00

When investigating a proposal to erect a cell tower in the vicinity of Ossossane and attempting to encourage Bell Mobility to do an archaeological assessment prior to going ahead with this project they were advised that the Ossossane sites are designated as a National Historic Site. What is interesting to note here is that designation as a National Historic Site affords no protection to the site and that Industry Canada, the federal agency that regulates cell tower installations does not require archaeological assessments as part of their policy.
Best keep an eye out for cell tower proposals, they can be as destructive to a site as any other development. They require fencing and service access roads all of which impact on sites.
I think that the OAS and or the Ministry needs to consult with the federal government to block this loophole before more sites have holes poked in them.
BTW - Bell has now agreed to do an assessment even though not required to. - Sometimes advocacy works!

"Powell Collection" - Ossossane

2011-09-02T18:38:00.000-04:00

I went to view the “Powell” collection that is now in the possession of Trish (Powell) and John Hartman at their home in north Tiny. Bill Gibson came with me to photograph the collection (some inserted below) and John Hartman was kind enough to forward me his photos (overview attached). While we were there John Powell showed me an axe collar that he had recently found on the property and gave me a property survey that shows where some of these items where reported found by Mr. Powell Sr. between the late 60s and 1980s. The Powell farm is located on the N ½ of lot 16 Con 7 Tiny township and is now divided in 2 (upper and lower lands primarily) and owned by Mary and Joan Powell respectively along with their spouses.

It is on the upper lands above the ridge that a Bell communications tower has been proposed and this is the same part of the farm that most if not all the artifacts were found by Mr. Powell Sr.
Although numerous finds have been reported on this lot and those adjoining it by people like A F Hunter, Ken Kidd, Frank Ridley, J Hunter, A Hawkins etc. no systemic archaeological study has been done to my knowledge that sheds sufficient light on the chronological migration of the village population of Ossossane over these acreages. We know that various generations of these villages were visited by such figures as Champlain (1615-16), Segard (1623-24), and Brebeuf (1635-39) as recorded in the primary source documentation left behind by Champlain, Sagard and the Jesuits.
What lead me to view the “Powell” collection was the concern raised when I was advised that a communications tower was proposed for this lot and that Industry Canada (the federal oversight body) did not require that an archaeological assessment be carried out by Bell nor does the local municipality have a consultative process put in place that might have involved more stakeholders than those indicated by Industry Canada whose default possession is properties with 90 m of the tower base. Bell has since agreed to do an archaeological assessment but I am not yet sure just how much ground will be covered or what the outcome of the assessment will be but I am sure that this land can yield far more historical evidence than it has to date and I would hope that once this assessment is complete and the results known the archaeological community will make further efforts to map out the district of Ossossane’s place in history.

September 8th Chapter Meeting - The Narrows

2011-09-02T17:14:00.000-04:00

Thursday September 8th 2011 – 7PM.

Huronia Museum & Native Village

549 Little Lake Park Rd

Midland, Ont. http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=hu

(705) 526 2844

Presentation – Janet Turner, Past President; - Mnjikaning Fish Fence Circle.

Purpose of group is the conservancy and preservation of the fish weirs at the Atherley Narrows. Group has speakers that will speak on native history as well as the preservation of the fish weirs. A cross cultural group that welcomes ideas from everyone.

Janet will present on the past, present and future plans (including an interpretive centre) for the National Historic Site that we may best know as the Narrows of Orillia first recorded in the works of Samuel De Champlain in September of 1615.

The presentation will be followed by our regular business meeting including member’s activity reports and upcoming events.

Committee Chairs please be prepared to give updates, if any, on committee activities since our last meeting.

Members and guests are encouraged to attend.

Archaeologists dig up former PoW camp in remote Manitoba - Toronto Star

2011-08-19T23:13:00.001-04:00

"The joint project has brought researchers from Stanford University and the nearby University of Brandon together to study one of the war’s smaller PoW camps — and the only unfenced one in North America."

World War Two prisoner of war camp in Manitoba excavated.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1042112--archaeologists-dig-up-former-pow-camp-in-remote-manitoba?bn=1 http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1042112--archaeologists-dig-up-former-pow-camp-in-remote-manitoba?bn=1

What happened on World Archaeology Day

2011-08-19T09:51:00.001-04:00

see http://www.dayofarchaeology.com/

some interesting logos for the event can be found at this profile in flickr

no Huronia Chapter meeting in August

2011-08-08T13:36:00.000-04:00

no chapter meeting in August

NEXT chapter meeting on September 8th

seeking stuff for the September issue of The Pot

2011-08-01T11:40:00.001-04:00

Looking ahead to the September issue of The Pot the amount of content surfacing is smaller than usual.

I am asking all chapter members to make a special effort to submit any of the following for the September issue of our newsletter:

a brief account of your summer's archaeological activities
any archaeological book or resource you have found recently that you would like to recommend to our membership
any photos you would like to share from your summer
any special plans or projects you are working on, both archaeological and non-archaeological
I am curious if you have found any new technology or specific camera that you find especially helpful in pursuing your archaeology, especially automatic shovel models

send to Bill Gibson, Editor, The Pot at williamjosephgibson@gmail.com

Thanks very much, I realize that summer is a busy time, but see if you can take a minute and share some information with the chapter.
Bill

Blog Contest - answers due by Sept 8th meeting

2011-07-20T15:29:00.001-04:00

Question -1- Where is this monument?
Question - 2 - Who put this up?
Question - 3 - What does it represent?

Blog contest rules are on earlier post about the contest.

September 8th 2011 chapter meeting - Janet Turner

2011-07-19T08:19:00.005-04:00

At our September chapter meeting, new member Janet Turner, past-president of the Mnjikaning Fish Fence Circle, will talk about the Atherley Narrows Fish Weir, which is sometimes just referred to as The Narrows fish weir at Orillia.

meeting: Huronia Museum, Midland, start time: 7 PM

Recently architecture students from Yale University studied the fish weir and developed designs to remediate the area, provide a bridge for viewing, and add an interpretive centre. see Orillia Packet Time story

Reminder - no chapter meeting in August 2011

article: Archaeologists and the Big Society and metal detectors

2011-07-18T09:35:00.001-04:00

Times article on archaeology

A view of archaeology in the UK with the recession recovery austerity, the evolution of amateurs and professionals - an interesting read.

When Brulé dipped his paddle into history

2011-07-17T10:12:00.001-04:00

Toronto Star article July 17, 2011
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1025825--when-brule-dipped-his-paddle-into-history

Today an article by Patrice Dutil, associate professor of politics and public administration at Ryerson University and president of the Champlain Society, which works to increase public awareness of Canada’s rich store of historical records.

It is interesting that Dutil calls this year the 400th anniversary, I suppose marking it from Etienne talking to Samuel de Champlain back in Quebec. Our chapter marked the 400th based on the date when Brulé came to Huronia, thus 2010. But any effort to mark the importance of this Canadian is absolutely worthwhile.

Orillia press coverage of Fall 2010 Brulé welcome

blog post with photos of Brulé welcome

At any rate, his contention that Brulé is underappreciated and relatively unknown yet is a pivotal figure in Canadian History sadly cannot be disputed.

The article leads with the CW Jeffreys drawing of EB, one known to school children of a certain age.

I think it might be an idea to approach the local arts groups in Midland and Orillia and suggest that their artists might like to take a cradk at imagining in paintings EB (Brulé) and Sam the man (Samuel de Champlain).

A google search for images of these two giants retrievves relatively few images.