Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Kisha Supernant, Director of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology and a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta

Dr. Kisha Supernant

 

As a teenager Kisha Supernant declared she would become an archaeologist someday.  It is common for children and adolescents to make statements about what their future occupation(s) will be.  Many do not ultimately pursue those dreams, allowing them to evolve as their interests change and they grow older, but this was not the case for Supernant.  She ultimately achieved that goal and is now a Professor at the University of Alberta.  This blog post will discuss some of Dr. Supernant’s achievements, focusing on her most recent applied archaeological endeavors involving the location of lost and forgotten unmarked burials of residential/boarding school pupils.

 

Dr. Kisha Supernant is Métis/Papaschase (Canadian Indigenous groups) and British.  Growing up she did not know much about her Indigenous heritage.  This part of her history was lost as a result of how her father grew up.  Born to an unwed mother he was forcibly taken and placed in foster care, where he spent his childhood and adolescents.  He “aged out” of the foster care system when he became an adult, and he learned very little about his family during that time.  While Supernant was pursuing her archaeological studies, first at the University of British Columbia and later at the University of Toronto, she got in contact with various Indigenous faculty members who provided her information that she used to learn more about her lost heritage.  These skills eventually aided her and her father to reunite with family members that they were not previously aware of.

 

This experience had a profound affect on Supernant.  As an archaeologist she has dedicated her studies to investigating cultural identities, landscapes and the use of space, and Métis archaeology.  She also promotes partnerships between Indigenous peoples and archaeologists to produce better informed knowledge about the past.  It is important that Indigenous voices are incorporated into the study and interpretation of archaeological artifacts as these groups have the knowledge about their use and cultural value that non-Indigenous archaeologists lack.  It also aids in reconciling the past prejudicial interpretations of Indigenous material culture and histories.  Supernant also advocates for changing terms typically used in archaeological discourse to be more inclusive and sensitive to Indigenous peoples.

 

Supernant’s research profile is extensive.  She serves as the Director of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology.  She supervises and trains archaeology students, particularly Indigenous students, in the above practices she promotes in her own research.  It was also in this position that she was introduced to new archaeological methods: remote sensing techniques.  These noninvasive methods allow for new means of more accurately surveying areas to discover what may be underneath the Earth’s surface.  

 

Dr. Kisha Supernant using ground penetrating radar equipment to survey.

 

Starting in 2018 she began using remote sensing techniques to locate lost and forgotten unmarked burials of residential/boarding school pupils.  This work came at the request of the Indigenous communities she had already been working with.  Based on the oral histories of residential/boarding school survivors it was well documented that many children did not survive, but it was unclear what school administrators and staff had done with the deceased children.  There was a desire and a need for answers, and Supernant answered that call.  She utilized historical research methods, cultural anthropological methods, and the newly acquired skill set in remote sensing to locate the missing children at the former Muskowekwan Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan.  She was successful in locating the burials, which was simultaneously heartbreaking and relieving for family members. 

 

Since this initial investigation Supernant and her team have had several additional requests for further investigations at former residential/boarding schools.  She was also appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Missing Children and Unmarked Graves.  In this capacity she is responsible for leading an advisory group tasked with creating guidelines for using noninvasive techniques for locating unmarked graves, burials, and cemeteries.  She notes that specific procedures and protocols must be established.  It is not simply a matter of going out with remote sensing technology.  There first is the need to do historical research to locate where the burials and cemeteries may be located, followed by rigorous training of individuals to understand how to appropriately use the remote sensing technology and read and interpret their outputs. She also notes a need for discussions on what steps should follow after such burials and cemeteries are located.  There is no easy or simple answer as this requires extensive discussions with residential/boarding school survivors and Indigenous communities, but at the present time Supernant is providing her expertise for the necessary first steps in reconciling this tragedy.

 

Bibliography

Austen, I. (2021, July 30). The Indigenous Archaeologist Tracking Down the Missing Residential Children. New York Times.

Supernant, K. (2023). My Story. Retrieved from Dr. Kisha Supernant: https://www.kishasupernant.com/my-story

University of Alberta. (2023). Director: Kisha Supernant. Retrieved from University of Alberta's Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology: https://www.ualberta.ca/prairie-indigenous-archaeology/people/director.html

University of Alberta. (2023). Remote Sensing and Burial Ground Research. Retrieved from University of Alberta's Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology: https://www.ualberta.ca/prairie-indigenous-archaeology/research/remote-sensing.html