ABSTRACT
The people of Bkejwanong have approached their archaeological heritage within the unceded territory encompassing the Walpole Island First Nation and across its wider Territory as the responsibility of the current generation to the generations of Ancestors who have shaped that record since time immemorial. This has included directing, advising, and working with archaeologists across the wider Territory, in response to the discovery of Ancestors’ remains. When Ancestors were encountered in an agricultural field on Bkejwanong in 2004, that practice continued by inviting archaeologists to come in to work with the community in ensuring that the story these Ancestors wanted to tell the current generation was heard. In this case, the story was about caring for Ancestors’ remains accidentally encountered by reburying them – something which occurred 1,000 years ago at this locale and which happened again in the present. This story ultimately affirms from the Ancestors that the approach to the Territory’s archaeological heritage the people of Bkejwanong follow is vital, and the practice of repatriation and reburial is part of a deep ancestral cultural practice that stretches back a millennium, and likely much longer.
