In(di)visible Fulcra: Perception and Balance in Canadian Archaeological Governance

Summary

The history of provincial heritage legislation and policy in the Canadian context has been infrequently studied and rarely theorized. Contemporary critical heritage and applied archaeological research are beginning to reverse this trend and the past that is coming to light has significant implications to future archaeological governance. Drawing from research conducted into British Columbia and Ontario, this paper highlights two important facets of archaeological governance, perception and balance. Perception revolves around the fluctuating identities and performances within the provincial regulatory apparatus during the transition from academically to commercially driven archaeology. Perceived shifts in the roles of state-affiliated archaeologists and the negotiated perceptions of stakeholders segue into a discussion of balance within the archaeological bureaucracy. The history of archaeological governance is one of an orchestrated balance between seemingly competing interests and identities. Both internal and external equilibria are consciously and unconsciously maintained as provincial archaeologists realize their roles within a wider bureaucracy and the role of cultural resource management within wider economic and cultural sectors.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Archaeology and the State

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