What else is new?: The Hudson’s Bay Company, Fort Albany and the Study of Colonialism

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Perspectives from the Study of Early Colonial Encounter in North America: Is it time for a “revolution” in the study of colonialism?" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Research into the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) has long played a pivotal role in Canadian national history. The HBC, a long-lasting commercial institution, was first established in the 1670s. Its earliest trading posts were placed along waterways feeding the Hudson Bay watershed. Among those was Fort Albany, whose archaeological remains were excavated by the ROM in the 1950s-60s. What can a fresh perspective on this “old” collection tell us about the study of colonialism, early colonial encounters, and the role of archaeologists in the production of colonial histories? I draw from a sample of Fort Albany objects, reports, and documentary sources to bring to light some of the long-term colonial consequences of HBC practices and policies for Indigenous peoples. I further suggest that a more meaningful engagement with land- and waterscapes may not only help decenter human agencies from the larger world they inhabit, but also bridge different epistemologies.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• Perspectives from the Study of Early Colonial Encounter in North America: Is it time for a “revolution” in the study of colonialism?

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 509