View of the glacial edge high in the Tatsenshini where Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi was found in 1999. Photo credit: Al Mackie
[Edit: November 2017: The Book is now available, also through Amazon, etc.]
I don’t usually plug public talks in cities that don’t contain the Shining Tower of Blog HQ, but I’m making an exception for this one. BlogBrother Alexander and BlogSisterInLaw Kjerstin are speaking on Tuesday evening in Portland on the topic of “The Kwädąy Dän Ts’ìnchį Project, a Collaborative Study of a Man Frozen in a Glacier and His Belongings.”
Screenshot of RBCM ISSUU document showing robe of Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi undergoing conservation. Click to view document.
I’ve posted about Kwädąy Dän Ts’ìnchį here once before at least, and the nice summary pamphlet made by the Royal BC Museum is still online, in the not-nice ISSUU format. If you’re not familiar, Kwädąy Dän Ts’ìnchį, “Long-Ago Person Found”, refers to the remains of a young man discovered frozen in a glacier in extreme NW British Columbia, in Champaign-Aishihik First Nation territory. Through a remarkable process of collaborative research an extensive scientific and cultural study of these remains and the belongings of the young man were made, before he was subsequently reburied near his place of death. Al was instrumental in overseeing the archaeological work, guiding the research program generally, and negotiating the delicate protocols which enveloped the whole project. Kjerstin was closely involved in the conservation and analysis of key elements of the man’s personal gear, especially his elaborate robe made of many ground squirrel skins. Beyond this, everything from hair isotopes to community DNA to pollen and glacial mineralogy to radiocarbon dating were used to provide a remarkably complete picture of the life and death of a young man and his relationship to communities and environments of the north coast and interior. It’s an incredible and moving story of discovery and the return to a community, welcoming with open arms the remains of one of their own from the distant past.
If you’re in the general area, you might well want to check out this talk, which is free and open to the public. It’s on Tuesday October 6th, with the general AGM of the Oregon Archaeological Society at 7.00 and the talk itself scheduled to begin about 7.45, at OMSI, 1945 SE Water Street, Portland.
Twined spruce root hat of Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi undergoing conservation. Source: RBCM ISSUU document online. Click for document.
Northwest Coast Archaeology 
Any word on the edited volume on KDT that was supposed to be produced? I recall talk of that in the large KDT session that was held at the NWAC conference in Victoria in 2008, but have heard little since.
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Hi Trevor – I previously worked on this volume and can confirm that it is still in process at the Royal BC Museum. No confirmed release date yet, but it is coming along (if slowly)… it’s a very large volume!
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Excellent! Thanks for the update, Jesse.
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Bah! I’m the wrong side of the Atlantic/Pacific/Arctic oceans to be able to make that, but it sounds fascinating. Any chance it’ll emerge on YouTube at any point?
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Thanks for the plug! The project was only possible with the agreement and support of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nation who led many of the studies and agreed to all the others.
Patrick that is not possible given the agreements in place and especially because CAFN are not co-presenting this talk. The ISSUU document Quentin links to contains all the info and images used in the talk and more besides.
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I am sorry I will miss your talks, Al and Kjerstin! So close, but so far away when one is teaching. And I am also glad to hear that the book is still in process. We can all look forward to that.
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Thanks so much for the post on Al and Kjerstin’s great presentation to the Oregon Archaeological Society on The Kwädąy Dän Ts’ìnchį Project.
We greatly appreciate it!
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