Hello Minneapolis Issues Folks,
I supported the Crown Hydro project because when
compared to the other options it seemed to have the
least impact.
A former Minnesota comedian use to have a joke that
went like this; the problem I have with therapy and
counseling is the right people never get it! It is
never Timmy who was chased by his farther with
shooting a shot gun at him. It always seems to be Todd
who didn't get the right color ten-speed bike growing
up.
I feel a lot like Todd today.
I new about this story prior to the Crown Hydro vote
but decided to keep it to myself.
I sincerely hope that the Park Board made the correct
decision. I know the people that are impacted by our
energy consumption and have listened to their hart
wrenching stories and have a difficult time
understanding the negative impacts of Crown Hydro when
compared to their stories.
The story below is about 6500 year old remains. This
area will be impound by a dam being built to serve
Minnesota's energy needs sometime next year.
I truly hope that Crown Hydro will not be the last
discussion about our energy use and just be the
beginning of people looking at the impacts associated
with our energy consumption.
Ken Bradley Corcoran Neighborhood
Article below was originally published in the Winnipeg
Free Press, May 17, 2004
Human remains 6,500 years old - Ancient grave site
found near Thompson
By David O'Brien
ARCHEOLOGISTS conducting a routine survey in northern
Manitoba discovered a 6,500-year-old grave containing
the remains of an aboriginal woman and a child.
They are the oldest human remains ever found in
Manitoba, according to David Finch, an independent
archeological contractor investigating grave sites and
recovering remains in the North.
"It was a remarkable find," Finch said. "It's
impressive that remains that old were preserved so
well."
Finch said a moose rack was covering the child's body,
possibly as an offering, but no one is sure yet.
The age of the remains was determined by carbon dating
the antlers, instead of the bones, he said.
Unearthed three years ago near Wuskwatim Lake, about
50 kilometres west of Thompson, the remains will
eventually be returned for burial, Finch said.
Other remains were found in the same area, but they
have not been dated yet, he said.
The discovery is still being analysed by experts at
the University of Winnipeg, where the bones are
located, he said.
They eventually will provide a picture of the health,
diet and habits of some of the province's earliest
inhabitants, Finch said.
The discovery could also lead to a re-evaluation of
theories about early settlement and migration in
Manitoba, Finch said.
It's assumed the remains are those of a mother and her
child, but a genetic test may be necessary, if
conclusive proof is wanted, he said. (The child's sex
could not be identified.)
The study of other graves has already shown that early
aboriginals cared about their dead and frequently
buried them with worldly wealth, such as weapons and
other objects, he said.
"They held their dead in high esteem," Finch said.
Patricia Badertscher, manager of archeology for the
province's historic resources branch, said the
discovery is unusual because the area was buried
beneath a glacier for thousands of years and would not
have been inhabited by people.
The Ice Age ended in Manitoba just 8,000 years ago, so
"it was a surprise to find such old remains so far
north," Badertscher said.
They were found during a survey conducted by the
Churchill River Diversion Archaeological Project,
which began in 1990 as a partnership between Manitoba
Hydro, the Historic Resources Branch of Manitoba,
Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism, the
Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation at Nelson House and the
South Indian Lake Community.
The purpose is to identify, preserve, protect and
rescue eroding artifacts and human remains impacted by
flood waters caused by operation of the Churchill
River diversion, which raised the level of South
Indian Lake for Hydro development.
Speaking at an archeological conference last week,
Finch said 70 sets of human remains have been found at
40 sites in the Churchill River area, most of them
near a lake or river.
The remains are either left undisturbed, removed for
reburial or removed for analysis and reburial later,
he said, adding the excavations are done with great
sensitivity and only with the permission of First
Nations.
Some sites were discovered accidentally, identified by
aboriginals or through historical records, he said.
Others were exposed as a result of flooding caused by
Hydro development, construction or natural reasons
such as erosion, Finch said.
Some of the remains are from the pre-contact era, or
before white men first entered the area in the 17th
century, he said.
Most of the graves were single burials, but others had
two or three bodies in them, he said.
As nomads, aboriginals would not have had fixed
community cemeteries that they returned to year after
year, Finch noted.
Spiritual connection
But unlike western civilization, where old graves are
largely ignored, aboriginals value their grave sites
because they believe in a spiritual connection with
their ancestors, he explained.
Canadian archeologists have established a good
relationship with aboriginals, but that's not the case
in many other countries, where native people resent
the callous way in which their ancestors are exhumed
for study, Finch said.
Archeologists at the University of Winnipeg have
developed an expertise in identifying and analysing
aboriginal remains since the first set of bones was
brought to them in 1980 by RCMP.
The university has since become the primary lab for
identifying aboriginal remains in Manitoba, said Dr.
Christopher Meiklejohn.
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