Current IPIA Scholars

Solene Mallet Gauthier – PhD Candidate

My research will focus on Métis foodways and identity through the analysis of plant and insect remains found on Métis overwintering sites.

Watch a short video about Solene's research

Elizabeth Goldberg – PhD Student

Libby's MA research examines the woven fiber perishables uncovered at the 13th c. site of the Promontory Caves, UT. Her work is complementary to her supervisor Jack Ives' previous studies of the site's moccasins, which bear structural similarities to those made by Subarctic Dene language-speakers. She seeks to determine if the site's basketry and cordage likewise have more in common with the Subarctic or if they better reflect those made by contemporaneous Fremont populations in the eastern Great Basin.

Stephanie Halmhofer- PhD Student

Since completing my undergraduate program at the University of Alberta in 2012, I've worked as an archaeologist in Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia. I finished my Masters degree at the University of Toronto, where I studied rare blown glass beads uncovered at Sexwamin (Garden Bay), British Columbia. Since then, my interests have turned to something called pseudoarchaeology, which refers to the intentional misinterpretation, misrepresentation, and/or manipulation of archaeology for alternative and speculative theories about human history (aka archaeological conspiracy theories). My PhD research will be examining the connections between pseudoarchaeology and conspirituality (ideologies built from blending conspiracy theories with New Age spiritualism) in historic and contemporary North America, with close focus on Brother XII and the Aquarian Foundation (c. 1920s-1930s).

Andrew Lints- PhD Student

Beginning in 2007 at the Brandon University Archaeological Field School I developed a passion for the study of past lifeways within the Northern Great Plains. My research has always been centered around the holistic interpretation of past activities that blends the use of zooarchaeological, paleobotanical, and geoarchaeological perspectives. Currently I am working on my PhD that centers around how people inhabiting the Northern Great Plains during the Besant and Sonota era used pottery.

William (Liam) Wadsworth – PhD Candidate

Liam specializes in applying geophysics/remote sensing techniques to Canadian archaeology, primarily at the request of Indigenous communities. He has had the opportunity to work on diverse sites representing different time periods and cultures. His other research interests include: landscape archaeology, GIS, Indigenous Knowledge, non-invasive and digital technologies, archaeological science, and unmarked graves. His supervisor is Dr. Kisha Supernant. Story Map CV: https://arcg.is/1HSDSa0 

Watch a short video about Liam's research

Zhe Zhang – PhD Student

I current focus on the study of Neolithic aurochs bonebed from northeast China. Through the application of traditional zooarchaeology methods, stable isotope analysis and GIS, I want to explore the formation process of bonebed and its possible role in identity and social complex.

Erika Sutherland – PhD Student

Emily Haines- MA Student

Emily Haines is a Métis and Polish-Canadian woman originally from the north end of Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the homeland of the Anishinaabe, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, and Métis on Treaty 1 territory. Her Métis relations have lived across the Métis homeland for centuries and include the Malaterre, Larocque, McIvor, Fleury, and Adam families among others. She has been living in Mistahi Sâkâhikan (St. Albert, Alberta) since 2001 and now lives and works in Amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta). She holds a BA in Anthropology and Classics from the University of Alberta and is currently pursuing a master’s degree through the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology specializing in Indigenous Archaeologies. Her research involves investigating sites of historical Métis occupation in Edmonton, using GIS to map these sites onto the modern landscape, and to both encourage the vitality of modern Métis communities and to re-visualize Edmonton and other cities as Indigenous spaces. 

Watch a short video about Emily's research

Dawn Wambold – PhD Student

I completed my BA in Anthropology with distinction at Athabasca University in 2017. Later that same year, I started my MA with the Exploring Métis Identity Through Archaeology (EMITA) project. My MA research focused on the stories that the archaeological record can tell about the daily life and relationships of Métis women at overwintering sites. For my PhD, I am continuing my work with EMITA but shifting my focus to the Métis of Southern Alberta. Through the use of archaeology I hope to gain a greater understanding of the earliest connections of the Métis to this landscape.

Maria Nelson - MA Student

Maria is a Ukrainian Métis woman residing on Treaty 6 territory. Her family comes from across the prairies, and is connected to the Métis families of Lavallee, Piche, Arcand, Vandale, Anderson, Cayen, McGillis, Grant, Poitras, Ross, Short, McKay, and many others. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Anthropology from the University of Alberta. She is working on her Masters under Dr. Kisha Supernant. Her research will focus on looking at Métis deathscapes as a form of erasure, dispossession, and reconnection, seeking to identify areas that have a high potential for Métis connections and work toward recognizing and commemorating the Métis ancestors in these places.

Lyndsay Dagg - MA Student

Lyndsay received her BSc in Anthropology from the University of Victoria in June of 2022 and then moved to Edmonton to work with Dr. Kisha Supernant at the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology. Lyndsay's MA research involves using geospatial technologies including Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and GIS to do non-invasive archaeological research. In particular, her research focuses on using these non-invasive technologies to investigate burials and their placement in the landscape at the request of communities in order or to not only locate burials but to also gain insight into the people who participated in the burial.

Benjamin Kucher - Undergrad Student

Ben is in his final year of undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta, with a major in Anthropology and a minor in Psychology. He is Métis/Ukrainian from treaty 6 territory. Ben’s research focuses on the incorporation of Indigenous epistemologies into academic spaces. He employs ethnoarchaeological and community-based methodologies in order to better understand the past and the relationships that people had with their environment. Currently, he is working on incorporating non-invasive geophysical techniques to investigate archaeological questions through non-destructive processes.

Madalyn Mandziuk – Research Assistant

Madalyn completed her B.A. Honours in History at the University of Alberta in Spring 2022, her thesis focusing on Canadian legal history as it relates to the residential school system. In addition to her degree, Madalyn completed a Certificate in Community Engagement and Service-Learning, completed field school with the IPIA in 2019, and completed independent studies with Dr. Supernant. As a research assistant supporting the work of the IPIA partnering with Indigenous communities to find missing children and unmarked graves at residential school sites, Madalyn focuses on historical and archival research. This includes supporting Indigenous community access to archival records related to and from residential schools and developing resources for communities on the application and analysis of archival and historical records for finding missing children and unmarked graves.  

Madalyn is currently a first-year student in the Faculty of Law. Her research interests are in the legal implications of unmarked graves, heritage law and policy, repatriation, advocacy, and community-led, ethical, and trauma-informed research and legal practice.