New partnership to help bring artifacts back to Wanuskewin

A new partnership with Wanuskewin represents deep connections to the heritage park.

Representatives from ALT Group and Wanuskewin celebrate the new partnership on Feb. 2, 2023 at Wanuskewin Heritage Park. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

The partnership with ATL Group, which is largely comprised of former archaeology students from the University of Saskatchewan, was announced Thursday.

The firm will provide $20,000 to partly fund an on-site archaeological storage facility to house artifacts unearthed at Wanuskewin, and will donate about $50,000 in free consulting services as the park works toward its UNESCO World Heritage Site bid.

Alan Long, director of development for Wanuskewin, said the donation comes as the park is working through the early stages of its “UNESCO Ready” campaign. Wanuskewin, he said, is almost halfway to its fundraising goal of $12 million.

The invisible thread connecting ATL group and Wanuskewin runs through the heritage park’s lead archaeologist and co-founder, Dr. Ernie Walker.

Over the years, Walker said he has invited at least 600 undergraduate and field school students and about 80 graduate students to perform research and excavations at Wanuskewin. He said he’s always viewed them as both colleagues and friends, particularly the graduate students.

Two of those students are the founders of ATL Group.

Walker said his feelings of gratitude Thursday were especially personal because of that close connection.

Brad Schiele, co-founder and principal at ATL Group, earned his master’s degree in archaeology in 2011 at the University of Saskatchewan. A few years before that, he said he was introduced to Wanuskewin for the first time as an undergraduate student taking a field course with Walker.

Schiele said it was his first chance to really study archaeology up close and to excavate.

“It was that kind of initial interaction with actual archaeology and the artifacts and this place that led me to do graduate school in archaeology,” Schiele said.

In the nearly 10 years since he co-founded ATL Group, Schiele said the Saskatoon-based firm’s work has focused on heritage research and Indigenous engagement, as well as preserving history.

“Now we have an opportunity and some extra capital that we can give back to something that gave back to us,” Schiele.

The donation, he said, was a way of expressing gratitude and appreciation for his schooling and the opportunities it has provided for him and the group’s other co-founder, Mike Markowski.

“It takes a good supervisor and a professor to see that your research is worthwhile,” Schiele said, thinking back to studying under Walker’s mentorship.

He called his former supervisor the “grandfather of plains archaeology in Canada,” and said many great memories during his years of study were made at Wanuskewin.

Archaeology was a way to save and preserve the land and history at Wanuskewin, Walker explained, calling the number of artifacts accumulated over the past four decades “voluminous” and “a legacy.”

Walker estimated that hundreds of thousands of artifacts have been unearthed at the park over the years. Most of the artifacts that have been excavated from Wanuskewin are currently being stored at the University of Saskatchewan.

The on-site archaeological storage facility funded by the donation will be helpful for Walker, who joked that he’s “getting tired of moving these things around.”

Walker said the facility fulfills a desire expressed by Indigenous elders connected to Wanuskewin, who wanted the artifacts to never be shipped away from the heritage park where they were unearthed.

Once the facility is built, Walker said he would strongly prefer that it not be open to the public because of the importance of preserving the collection. He said allowing access to researchers is an option, though he is not sure about “just anyone” coming in and having a look.

Walker expressed heartfelt gratitude to his former students Thursday. The archaeologist said he always hoped his students would show dedication and professionalism in their fields — something he says he sees in each of them today.

“At the end of the day, this is a personal attachment,” Walker said.

Wanuskewin CEO Darlene Brander said the new facility will be a great way for the park to “conserve and preserve” the findings made at the park. Having these items on site is important for the park’s bid, Brander added, as the selection group will want to know all about the park’s research program and the materials collected there over the years.

“It’s been a long time coming and something that the elders of 40 years ago would, I’m sure, be pleased with,” Brander said.

Brander said more than 6,000 years of human history exist on the heritage park’s land, and for 40 years archaeological findings have validated Indigenous teachings through the scientific record.

Throughout 2023, Brander said the park will be working to complete its nomination dossier package for its UNESCO bid, with hopes of wrapping up its upgrades and being “UNESCO-ready” by early 2024.