Métis Archaeologist, Kisha Supernant (University of Alberta) is giving a presentation at the Red Deer Museum (4525 47A Avenue) on December 5, 2018 at 7:00 pm.

"Beads, Brigades, and Bison: Exploring the Patterns of Metis Overwintering in Alberta"
The Canadian west during the 1800s provides an interesting historical and archaeological case study that has potential to shed light on the dynamics of settlement, material culture, and the mobile nature of Métis peoples. Based originally in the Red River Settlement, some of the Métis began to expand west after 1845, forming interconnected wintering communities to participate in winter bison hunting. These wintering communities were almost entirely inhabited by Métis families, so the assemblages from wintering sites present a test case to examine the day to day material culture of the Métis hunting brigades during the mid- to late-1800s. In this paper, Dr. Supernant examines patterns from previous and new excavations of Métis occupation at the Buffalo Lake site, near the head of Buffalo Lake east of Red Deer, to explore how Metis communities balanced the mobility of buffalo hunting with the need for a protected home base during the difficult prairie winters.