The History and Archaeology of the Iroquois du Nord: Artifacts, Border Theory, and Future Research

Sponsored by University of Ottawa Press

Recorded on 07/31/2023
Posted in The Authority File

Episode 338

The History and Archaeology of the Iroquois du Nord book cover

In the final episode of this four-part series, Ronald Williamson, founder and Senior Associate of Archaeological Services Inc. and co-editor of The History and Archaeology of the Iroquois du Nord, chats about the artifacts and Indigenous art from the sites of the Iroquois du Nord, a 17th-century series of Haudenosaunee settlements on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Ron explains how these materials—decorated antler combs, ceramic pottery and pipes, metal articles—provide key insight into Haudenosaunee cultures, movements, and interactions with other Indigenous groups and Europeans during this time period. Ron also discusses the idea of borderlands and border theory in relation to these settlements, and looks ahead to future research both in the library and on the field.

Ron Williamson headshot

About the guest:

Ronald F. Williamson
Founder and Senior Associate
Archaeological Services Inc.

Ronald F. Williamson is founder and now Senior Associate of Archaeological Services Inc. He has spent most of his career studying the history and archaeology of Ontario Iroquoians, much of it collaboratively with Indigenous partners. He is also Vice Chair of the board of Shared Path Consultation Initiative, a charitable organization dedicated to moving beyond collaboration and consultation to Indigenous decision-making in land use planning. He has published extensively on both Indigenous and early colonial Great Lakes history. He is appointed as adjunct status at the University of Western Ontario and he is Chair of the board of the Museum of Ontario Archaeology in London. His primary interests are in the ancestral Wendat occupation of Ontario, the Early Woodland Period in the Northeast and more broadly in the origins and development of the northern Iroquoian cultural pattern.

Editor’s Note: “Iroquois du Nord” refers to a series of Haudenosaunee settlements in the 1660s-70s on the north shore of Lake Ontario. As Ron explains in episode 332, “Iroquois” was a European term assigned to Haudenosaunee peoples, which are comprised of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. To learn more, Richard Hill, a Tuscarora and a contributor to the book, discusses Haudenosaunee territory and archives in an interview with The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Enjoy the conversation? Listen to the rest of the series:

Check out our previous series with the University of Ottawa Press:
– Anthropocene Geopolitics
– Looking at Canadian Community Development
– What We Can Learn from a COVID-19 Spring

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