OAS Huronia Chapter - 2011 a look back
· OAS Huronia Chapter membership has fluctuated 30 members
·
with about 50% overall participation in various chapter
activities.
·
We have had
8 members meetings so far this year including a review of our priorities in January
which reprioritized our Champlain 2015 Project
over to a committee.
Presentations at meetings:
·
Dr Alicia
Hawkins on the Thompson/Walker Huron
village site, · Jamie Hunter on Council Rock,
· Rudy Fecteau on Plants in Archaeology,
· Bryan MacKell regarding Simcoe County’s Trails Master Plan,
· Catherine Sutton on Dr C. J. Tache’s work in Huronia,
· Janet Turner on the Mnjikaning Fish Fence Circle at Orillia (The Narrows),
· Jamie Hunter on Beads from the Ball Site.
Social events:
·
pool party,
BBQ social in July
·
AGM/election
slated for December 8th with pot luck dinner.
Outdoor Events:
In addition
to our regular activities Laurentian U conducted a field school at the Ellery
site and Alicia was kind enough to host an open house to which our members were
invited to attend.
We also
attempted to host a public archaeology day but this was not possible due to
time constraints and the bureaucratic red tape seemingly unavoidable in such
endeavours.
Communications:
·
In support
of our members and their activities we publish a quarterly newsletter titled
“The Pot” along with the occasional update called “The Sherd”.
·
We have a
webpage courtesy of the OAS,
·
Our blog
has continued with less member’s participation than we might have hoped for but
none the less gives us a presence online and has stimulated some public
inquiries and information sharing.
Champlain 2015:
·
Last year's
focus on Champlain and the villages he visited in Huronia in 1615 has been
formulated into a funding request that has been submitted to a local
francophone organization that has a mandate to promote the Champlain
commemoration events slated for 2015.
·
In 2015 we
have committed to host the OAS annual symposium.
Consultations:
From our
networking with the First Nations community we were asked to become involved in
some community consultation regarding the installation of a Bell Mobility
communications tower that was proposed in an area rich with archaeological and
historical resources (the Ossossane sites). Following consultation Bell
Mobility agreed to do an archaeological assessment even though not required to
do so by Industry Canada who acts as the regulating body for these
tower installations.
The Larger Issue of Protection:
We were
also reminded that even though these sites are designated as National Historic
sites, this affords them no protection from intrusion and or destruction.
Communities across Ontario have been asked to develop a protocol regarding
communication towers but seem to be discouraged from asking for serious
community consultation and from what I can see ignore cultural landscapes and
any question of archaeological assessments. These issues might well be
considered for action by the OAS advocacy committee in an effort to further the
protection of archaeological sites in Ontario.
Wye River proposed industrial development:
We have
also been asked for comment on an industrial site development that is close to
some archaeological sites across the river from Ste Marie among the Hurons and
visible from the Martyrs Shrine. This development was not asked to do an
archaeological assessment and it would appear that the question of
historical/cultural landscapes was never addressed.
Mnjikaning Fish Fence Circle at Orillia
(The Narrows):
Another
project that we have been invited to become involved with is
the Mnjikaning Fish Fence Circle and their project to build a bridge
over and an interpretive centre at the Atherley Narrows. This is
another National Historic site that is afforded no protection and is now being
encroached by developments.
All in all
this has been another good year with more potential projects in the works than
active members to move them forward.
1 comment:
Thanks Bill for posting this - I looks like a good report for the upcoming AGM on December 8th at the Huronia Museum.
I spent part of today at the protest march re the industrial site that is adjacent to 2 of our major historical sites and a # of archaeological sites and from there went to Orillia re the bridge over the Narrows where our participation has been welcomed.
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