MP Sheehan and Dr. Paulette Steeves, new Canada Research Chair
DR. PAULETTE STEEVES NAMED CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR
HISTORY PROFESSOR AT ALGOMA UNIVERSITY AWARDED $500,000 IN FUNDING
(Sault Ste. Marie, ON- June 28, 2019): Algoma University is pleased to announce that Dr. Paulette Steeves has been appointed Tier II Canada Research Chair in Healing and Reconciliation, receiving $500,000 in funding from the Government of Canada to support her efforts.
“I am very pleased to see nationally recognized work in Healing and Reconciliation being completed at Algoma University. Being named Canada Research Chair Tier II reflects the incredible calibre of Dr. Paulette Steeves’ work in Indigenous History, and Healing and Reconciliation, and I commend Dr. Steeves for her accomplishments,” NOTED TERRY SHEEHAN, Member of Parliament Sault Ste. Marie
The Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) aims to position Canada as one of the world’s top countries in research and innovation. The program invests $265 million annually to attract and retain the world’s best researchers. Canada Research Chairs strive to achieve research excellence in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences.
“As Algoma University continues forward with its quest to be a National leader in this period of Truth, Healing and Reconciliation, we are pleased to recognize the important role that Dr. Paulette Steeves will play as Canada Research Chair,” SAID ASIMA VEZINA,President and Vice-Chancellor of Algoma University.
“Being named a Tier II Canada Research Chair is one of the highest honours in our country for an emerging researcher in academia, and we are so happy she has chosen to conduct this research as part of the Algoma University community. Dr. Steeves understands our Special Mission and is committed to excellence in research and truth as it pertains to the First Peoples of Canada and their history here on Turtle Island. Her research will undoubtedly add a new dimension to the field of archeology. This is very exciting for our community, and for Indigenous Communities in the American continent. Dr. Steeves is committed to using scientific and indigenous approaches to seek the true origins of indigenous peoples in the Americas.”
Paulette Steeves is conducting research focused on decolonizing and rewriting Indigenous histories, and re-linking Indigenous people to their ancestral homelands. She is creating a database of hundreds of securely-dated archaeological sites, and oral histories, rock art, and petroglyphs sites. The resulting data will be mapped across time to create a holistic view of Indigenous people on the lands of the Western Hemisphere from over 200,000 years ago to 9,000 years ago.
“I am very honored to receive the Canada Research Chair in Healing and Reconciliation,” SHARED DR. STEEVES.
“It means a great deal to receive support to re-write Indigenous histories, an acknowledgement that this research is important to the processing of healing for Indigenous – Anishinaabe (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) communities. I also want to honor and thank the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (TIPS), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canada Research Chair Program (CRCP) the Anishinaabe communities of Sault Ste. Marie and the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association, the Algoma University leadership, the Office of Research and Innovation and faculty that believed in me, supported my research, and brought me to Algoma University as a nominee for a Canada Research Chair Tier II and faculty member in History.”
Dr. Paulette Steeves is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Algoma University. She is Cree-Metis and is an Indigenous Paleo Archaeologist who has carried out excavations on dozens of archaeology sites throughout North America. She began her university studies in 1995, quickly earning a place in an Honors Pre-Med program. In 2008 she earned a fully paid five-year fellowship to study archaeology at the State University of New York in Binghamton. She was awarded her PhD in 2015 and her first book ‘The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere (the Americas)’ will be published by the University of Nebraska Press in 2020.
The new funding will enable Steeves to dedicate more time for conducting research and publishing results, leading to increased productivity. Stable funding provided through the CRCP will strengthen her research team and attract collaborations from within and outside the University, further improving the quality of research currently underway.
Algoma U currently has three faculty members working as Canada Research Chairs. For more information on research being conducted at the University, please visit the Office of Research web pages.
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Media Contacts:
Brian Leahy
Director, Communications – Algoma University
- 705.949.2301, ext. 4361
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