Kisha named to Royal Society of Canada

As the first Métis person to practise Métis archeology, Kisha Supernant, an anthropology professor in the Faculty of Arts, said she is privileged to be at the centre of a push to explore ways for archeologists and communities to build collaborative research relationships. 

Kisha Supernant founded the first academic research project focused on Métis archeology and is currently working with First Nations communities to find and protect unmarked residential school burial sites. (Photo: John Ulan)

“I'm shaping that field and contributing broadly to Indigenous archeology and how we integrate Indigenous ways of knowing and being into archeological practice in Canada and beyond,” said Supernant, who is the director of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology.

Kisha Supernant founded the first academic research project focused on Métis archeology and is currently working with First Nations communities to find and protect unmarked residential school burial sites. (Photo: John Ulan)

Her work—using remote sensing technologies to locate and protect unmarked residential school burial sites at the request of First Nations communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan—has never been more important than it is now.

In 2012, Supernant founded the Exploring Métis Identity Through Archaeology (EMITA) project, which was the first academic research focused on Métis archeology. She also works with Tsimshian Nations of Metlakatla and Lax Kw'alaams in British Columbia to do archeological projects near Prince Rupert.

Supernant said she is honoured to be held in such regard and appreciates the forward-looking nature of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.

“I like this idea that you're creating a community of scholars who are going to be change makers for the future, who are going to be influencing the future of academia and the world beyond as we shape different futures,” she said. “I definitely see my own work in that context—trying to shape a different future for archeology and for how we understand the past.”

The fellows and new scholars will be inducted to the RSC at a ceremony later this year.

The U of A has now sent 180 scholars to the RSC.