ABSTRACT
Archaeology in Manitoba is mainly reactive to land development. As a result, a handful of contract archaeologists bid on various development projects that require an impact assessment before the green light is given to development. Leigh Syms was an instrumental role model and mentor for the author. Leigh Syms encouraged the author to continue in archaeology as a profession, and in 1991 he entered the University of Winnipeg to train as an archaeologist. Brandon University hired him that summer to assist in a public archaeology dig in Minnedosa and excavate with them at another project south of Brandon. The summer of 1995 was a remarkable year. The author was hired by the government of Manitoba to be a summer student, again assisting David Riddle. One of the elders he had met in 1993 while working for the province of Manitoba was Lawrence 'Teddy Boy' Houle from Ebb and Flow First Nation.
