Studying Finnish-Canadian homesteads in the footsteps of archaeologist Sakari Palsi

Lakehead University's Chair in Finnish Studies, Dr. Oula Seitsonen, will be presenting an update on his research and community engagement activities while at Lakehead. In particular, he will discuss ongoing contemporary archaeological research on the material heritage of Finnish-Canadian immigrants and on retracing the footsteps of Finnish archaeological pioneer Sakari Pälsi who travelled across Canada in 1927.

Created from the generous support of the Finnish community of Thunder Bay and its organizations, the Chair in Finnish Studies is an endowed interdisciplinary appointment for one or two terms during the regular academic year. Chairs are chosen by the Advisory Committee through an open competition and are expected to have a significant research profile.

Bio: Dr. Seitsonen is the current Chair in Finnish Studies at Lakehead University and an archaeologist and geographer at the University of Oulu. His research interests cover a wide thematic and geographic range, from the archaeologies of early pastoralism in Fennoscandia, Mongolia and East Africa, to the material heritage of the twenty-first century refugee crisis. His recent monograph, Archaeologies of Hitler’s Arctic War, published by Routledge, discusses the material traces of the German presence in northern Finland during the Second World War.