March 9, 2021 – Thunder Bay, Ont.

New research by Lakehead University anthropologist Dr. Jessica Metcalfe and colleagues provides direct evidence for long-distance connections among precolonial Dene peoples from northern Canada to the southern United States.

About 800 years ago a group of highly successful hunter-gatherers spent several decades living on the north shore of Great Salt Lake, Utah. Archaeological evidence suggests that these ‘Promontory people’ were Dene ancestors whose moccasin styles indicate an origin in the Canadian Subarctic, more than 1,500 km to the north.

Dr. Metcalfe’s research shows the Promontory people also made at least one journey even farther into the south and/or east, bringing back a scrap of leather that they incorporated into one of their distinctive moccasins.

“We can take a tiny piece of leather and determine if it has chemical signatures that are typical of the place where it was found, or if it came from somewhere else,” said Dr. Metcalfe, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Lakehead University.

“Most of the Promontory materials were obtained close to the site, but this piece of leather came from far away – probably hundreds of kilometres to the south or east.”

Use of these cutting-edge techniques in archaeology is growing, but Dr. Metcalfe said this is the first time past human migrations have been reconstructed using chemical traces in footwear.

This research contributes to a longstanding archaeological puzzle: how and when did the Dene language family spread from the Canadian Subarctic into the American Southwest?

During the colonial period, these populations were seen as geographically separate and thought to have no direct connections with one another. However, Dr. Metcalfe’s research suggests that Dene groups travelled great distances to gain and utilize landscape knowledge. This likely facilitated the gradual migration of Dene ancestors from the Subarctic to the Southwest.

Recently, Dene people from northern, southern, and coastal nations have gathered at workshops and conferences held in Tsuut’ina territory (southern Alberta) to share their interconnected languages and cultures and to chart directions for the future.

The research of Dr. Metcalfe and her colleagues, along with genetic, linguistic, and oral history evidence, demonstrates that Dene connections are not a recent phenomenon – long-distance migrations and meetings of Dene peoples have been occurring for many hundreds of years.

Dr. Metcalfe’s research was published in the premier North American archaeology journal, American Antiquity, available here: https://doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2020.116

Other members of the research team include Dr. John (Jack) W. Ives and Jennifer Hallson (University of Alberta), Dr. Beth Shapiro and Sabrina Shirazi (University of California, Santa Cruz), Dr. Kevin P. Gilmore (HDR), Dr. Fiona Brock (Cranfield University), and Dr. Bonnie J. Clark (University of Denver).

The research was supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) grants awarded to Dr. Metcalfe and Dr. Ives.

Contact

To learn more about this research project, please contact:  

Dr. Jessica Metcalfe

jmetcal1@lakeheadu.ca

Assistant Professor

Department of Anthropology

Lakehead University

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8177 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

 
Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked, once again, among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings; as well as included in the top half of Times Higher Education's 2020 World Universities Rankings for the second consecutive year, and 98th among 766 universities from around the world in THE's 2020 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.

An 800 year-old Promontory moccasin constructed in a Subarctic style. Photo credit: Dr. J. W. Ives

March 8, 2021 – Orillia, Ont.

Two Lakehead University Orillia researchers are receiving Partnership Engage Grants of approximately $25,000 each for research connected with COVID-19, from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Dr. Natalya Timoshkina, Associate Professor in the School of Social Work, and two graduate students will partner with North Simcoe Victim Services for one year to examine the impact of COVID-19 on service provision to persons who have experienced human trafficking.

“Human trafficking, or trafficking in persons, is a gross violation of human rights and a serious crime,” Dr. Timoshkina said.

It involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of threat, use of force, abduction, debt bondage, fraud, deception, the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or other forms of coercion for the ultimate purpose of exploitation, typically in the sex industry or for forced labour.

“Millions of people are trafficked annually around the globe, with thousands of them in Canada,” she said.

“Two-thirds of the nation's police-reported trafficking in persons violations occur in Ontario. Within the province, Simcoe County, home to Lakehead Orillia, is a hot spot for sex trafficking and labour trafficking, making it a strategic ground for systemic TIP responses,” Dr. Timoshkina said.

Dr. Olakunle Akingbola, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Business Administration, will partner with Caribbean African Canadian Social Services Inc. (CAFCAN) for one year to research COVID-19 and remote work in non-profit organizations, including employee well-being and community outcomes.

“The primary goal of our partnership is to understand how, why, and under what circumstances CAFCAN adopted remote work during and after COVID-19 and the consequences for employee well-being and the community,” Dr. Akingbola said.

Specifically, the partnership seeks to investigate the characteristics of remote work at CAFCAN during COVID-19 and understand how employees perceive the remote work that they experience.

Researchers will also explore the factors contributing to the adoption of remote work at CAFCAN after COVID-19, the benefits and unintended consequences for employees and the community.

Dr. Akingbola and his team, which will include one graduate and one undergraduate student will explain the relationship between the context when remote work is experienced, the resources and policy implications of remote work; and examine the competencies, tools and support mechanisms that employees and the organization will need to manage remote work in a non-profit.

“The need to examine and understand the underlying factors and consequences of remote work during and after COVID-19 is accentuated in a non-profit such as CAFCAN because employees provide social and emotionally intensive services to clients,” he said.

“There are multiple stakeholders with divergent and sometimes opposing interests such as community activists, volunteers and employees working together for the organization, and non-profit employees are attracted to the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the clients.”

Dr. Andrew P. Dean, Lakehead’s Vice-President, Research and Innovation, said he was pleased that SSHRC recognized both of these researchers and their important work.

“We would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for their support for these Partnership Engage Grants,” Dr. Dean said.

“These two special COVID-19 Partnership Engage Grants are timely, and emphasize how research in the social sciences is important to understand the multiple ways that COVID-19 is impacting our society.” 

In 2019/20, Lakehead University received nearly $2 million in assistance from the Research Support Fund to support the indirect costs of research, which includes costs for supporting the management of intellectual property, research and administration, ethics and regulatory compliance, research resources, and research facilities.  

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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8177 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked, once again, among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings; as well as included in the top half of Times Higher Education's 2020 World Universities Rankings for the second consecutive year, and 98th among 766 universities from around the world in THE's 2020 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca. 

April 15, 2021 – Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ont.

Lakehead University’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Moira McPherson, is very pleased to announce that following an extensive national search, Michael den Haan has been appointed as the University’s new Vice-President, External Relations. 

Mr. den Haan brings 25 years of experience in fundraising, donor, alumni and volunteer engagement, communications, governance, and external relations. He most recently served as Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Engagement at Simon Fraser University. 

Dr. McPherson is looking forward to welcoming den Haan to the Lakehead University community. “Michael comes to us with a wealth of leadership experience in philanthropy, alumni and community relations, and I am very confident that Lakehead will benefit from his many skills in this critically important role at our University,” said Dr. McPherson.

“Lakehead University is a special place,” den Haan said. “It is a community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff who are joined by a vision for a local and global future that is better. It is a community which is unafraid to move through challenges in order to achieve that new future. As the Lakehead community continues such important work within its current strategic framework and anticipates new opportunities in the face of shifting, regional and global realities, I’m proud and excited to join the team as their new Vice-President, External Relations.”

The University’s External Relations portfolio plays a critical role in advancing Lakehead’s strategic priorities by building and promoting key relationships with diverse internal and external audiences. As a member of Lakehead’s Executive Team, den Haan will be responsible for providing a comprehensive, integrated approach to communications, marketing and web development, advancement and philanthropy, alumni engagement, and in close collaboration with government relations.

Mr. den Haan will be based at Lakehead University’s Orillia campus while working closely with colleagues, alumni, donors and community members in Thunder Bay, Orillia, and around the world. Mr. den Haan will begin his role on May 5, 2021.

Dr. McPherson expressed her sincerest appreciation to Ann Brandt, who has served as Lakehead’s Interim Vice-President, External Relations, for over a year.

Dr. McPherson also thanked the Search Advisory Committee and KCI Search + Talent for the time and effort they committed to the search process and outcome. “Their input, perspectives, and engagement were key to helping us obtain a superb slate of applicants, and, ultimately, our successful candidate,” she added.

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Media Thunder Bay
For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at 807-343-8177 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

Media Orillia
For more information, please contact Jaclyn Bucik, Media, Communications and Marketing Associate, at 705-330-4010 ext. 2014 or jbucik@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. Lakehead University’s achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including being ranked, once again, among Canada’s Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings; as well as included in the top half of Times Higher Education's 2020 World Universities Rankings for the second consecutive year, and 98th among 766 universities from around the world in THE's 2020 Impact Rankings (which assesses institutions against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals). Visit www.lakeheadu.ca. 

The May issue of the Faculty of Education's newsletter is now published. This newsletter brings current and former students, as well as educational partners, together to share news, successes, and innovations.

In this issue, you'll find articles on teaching placements in the era of COVID-19, the recipients of the Teacher Education Research Fund Awards, faculty news and announcements, and more.

To access our Education Exchange newsletter, click here.

In this interview with the Centre for Education, Law and Society at Simon Fraser University, Dr. Gerald Walton, Professor in Lakehead's Faculty of Education, discusses culture, and rape culture in particular, and the impact it has on law and policies affecting schools.

He addresses the importance of teaching about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in schools. He also discusses the relationship between bullying, culture, and social politics. 

The Faculty of Education's January 2021 newsletter is now available online, including articles about the move to online teaching, alumni profiles, faculty news, and more.

Michael Stones, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, published an article on stuttering in The Conversation, an online journal that combines academic and journalistic orientations. The article attracted over 1000 readers per day after publication, with about half the readership from the USA and a quarter from Canada.

You can read it here.

The reasons for stuttering are best understood within genetics and neuroscience. Although the problem mainly begins in the first four years of life, most children recover. Less that 1% of adults stutter, with more men than women. The problem usually becomes less severe in later life.

The article has two themes. The first is that treatment for adults who stutter should take account of effects such as anxiety, depression and social phobia. These conditions might be present in about one-third of adults who stutter. Part of this treatment might be to rid that person of self-applied stigma about stuttering that is present throughout society.

The second theme is that stuttering may have some positive outcomes. Many notable people have lifelong stuttering. They include accomplished actors, sports stars, politicians, singers, musicians, writers etc. Some attribute their success to learned compassion and ‘stuttering toughness’, which makes them resilient to adversity. A recent example is Joe Biden, whose election as President of the United States gave hope to millions of people who stutter.

Dr. Kristen Jones-Bonofiglio recently published an article in the American Journal of Critical Care outlining the ways hospital policies have neglected to support and protect the psychosocial needs of frontline health-care workers, patients and their families while providing palliative and end-of-life care.

Dr. Jones-Bonofiglio is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing and Director of the Centre for Health Care Ethics.

“Consequently, the stage has been set for increased anxiety, moral distress, and moral injury and extreme moral hazard,” the article argues.

“A family-centered approach to care has been unilaterally relinquished to a secondary and nonessential role during the current crisis. This phenomenon violates a foundational public health principle, namely, to apply the least restrictive means to achieve good for the many.”

Called A Practical Approach to Hospital Visitation During a Pandemic: Responding With Compassion to Unjustified Restrictions, Dr. Jones-Bonofiglio wrote the article with Dr. Nico Nortjé (Texas), Dr. Laura Webster (Washington), and Dr. Daniel Garros (Alberta).

You can read the article here.

Group members, from left, Paul Stoppel, Pearce Curle and Mason Tommasini came up
with a unique solution to a problem involving COVID-19.

The Department of Software Engineering is proud to present the work of its second-year Technical Project students from this semester.

The Department is particularly recognizing the talent of three students: Pearce Curle, Paul Stoppel, and Mason Tommasini, who shared their engineering design solution to a real-world problem facing society.

A “Vision-Based Occupancy Tracker System for Public Safety has been designed and prototyped, that uses computer vision to detect and record events triggered by motion of objects. This enables public places to control the number of people in an area, aiming to reduce the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus.

The student team aims to advance the prototype with additional features, such as facial recognition, and implement the system in a resource-limited hardware platform.