Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity

Archeologist Christine Roberts’, member of the Wei Wai Kum First Nation and graduate from VIU's Anthropology program, delves into the lives of her First Nations ancestors as a monitor of excavations during upgrades to Highway 19 along the east coast of Vancouver Island near Campbell River. The highway, constructed decades ago, runs through the heart of her nation’s traditional territory.

On Father’s Day in June 2018, Samantha Good, an undergraduate student studying anthropology at VIU, was participating in a field school that was working on an excavation in the Drimolen cave in South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind. She uncovered what appeared to be a canine tooth jutting out from the loose brown sediment. Ms. Good kept digging until she found two more teeth and a partial palate, and then alerted her instructors. (Article published in the NY Times on Nov. 9th)

Dr. Georgina Martin is the only BC representative to be elected to the Tri-agency reference group, a national group responsible for providing direction on building mutually respectful relationships between Indigenous communities and researchers.