Paulette Steeves

Paulette F. C. Steeves is a Cree-Métis anthropologist, archaeologist, and the Tier II Canada Research Chair in Indigenous History: Healing and Reconciliation at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Education and career Steeves is Cree-Métis and was born in Whitehorse, Yukon. She spent her formative years in Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada. Steeves holds a BA in Anthropology (Honors Cum Laude) from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where her undergraduate research involved mitochondrial DNA studies supporting the Quapaw Tribe.

In 2008, she was awarded the Clifford D. Clark Fellowship for graduate studies. and as an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Mount Allison University (2017-2018).

In 2019, Steeves was appointed as a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Healing and Reconciliation (renewed and expanded to Canada Research Chair in Indigenous History: Healing and Reconciliation for 2024–2029) and joined the faculty of Algoma University as a professor in the Department of Geography, Geology, and Land Stewardship (later also serving as Department Chair).

She is a member of the Editorial Board for American Antiquity (2021–2026) and serves on the advisory committee for the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology.

Research Steeves' research focuses on decolonizing historical narratives and reclaiming deep Indigenous histories of the Western Hemisphere. She has compiled an extensive database of hundreds of pre-11,200-year-old archaeological sites to support this reclamation.

Her research extends to several related areas of community-engaged scholarship: Healing and Reconciliation: Creating educational resources, including a database and maps of residential schools and colonial institutions in Canada (crscid.com). Indigenous Food Sovereignty: Leading research on recreating Terra Preta (Amazonian Dark Earths) regenerative soils to address food insecurity in Northern Indigenous and urban communities. Indigenous Methodologies: Developing and applying frameworks she terms "Pyroepistomology," emphasizing fire as a metaphor for cleansing, reclaiming knowledge, and responsibilities to future generations.

Steeves' first book, The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere (University of Nebraska Press, 2021), was awarded the American Library Association's Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 2022. Her work has been featured in documentaries, including "Walking with the Ancients" on CBC's The Nature of Things.

Awards and honors Algoma University Distinguished Faculty Award (2024) Algoma University Research Excellence Award (2023) American Library Association (ALA) Choice Outstanding Academic Title for The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere (2022) Tier II Canada Research Chair in Healing and Reconciliation (2019–2024, renewed as Canada Research Chair in Indigenous History: Healing and Reconciliation 2024–2029) University of Massachusetts Amherst SBS Research Grant (2016) SUNY Binghamton GSEU Professional Development Award (2013) American Anthropological Association, Archaeology Division, Student Travel Grant (2012) Society for American Archaeology, Arthur C. Parker Scholarship (2010) Clifford D. Clark Fellowship, Binghamton University (2008–2013)

Selected publications Books Steeves, P. (2021). The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere. University of Nebraska Press.

Book chapters Steeves, P. (2024). Pyroepistomology: Re-Claiming and Reciprocity. In S. Hatfield (Ed.), Indigenous Voices: Critical Reflections on Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Oregon State University Press. Steeves, P. (2024). Round Dancing and Counting Coup in Academic Circles with Vine Deloria, Jr. In D. Wilkins (Ed.), A Tribute to Vine Deloria, Jr. University of Nebraska Press. Steeves, P. (2024). My Indian Name is Pyroepistomology: Fire is a Cleansing Path. In G. Nicholas & J. Watkins (Eds.), Being and Becoming an Indigenous Archaeologist (2nd ed.). Routledge. Steeves, P. (2023). Listening to the Land: Honoring Ancestors. In K. Horn-Miller & M. Kress (Eds.), Teaching and Learning through Place, People and Practices: A Global Intersection of Righting Relations in Indigenous Land-Based Education. Canadian Scholars’/Women’s Press. Steeves, P. (2022). We Have Always Been Here; Reclaiming and Rewriting Indigenous Histories of Turtle Island. In Being Legendary: Kent Monkman at the Royal Ontario Museum. Art Institute Canada, Massey College. Steeves, P. (2021). Singing to Ancestors Respecting and Re-telling Stories Woven Through Ancient Ancestral Lands. In A. McGrath & L. Russell (Eds.), Companion to Indigenous Global History. Routledge. Steeves, P. (2020). Our Earliest Ancestors: Human and Non-Human Primates of North America. In M. Porr & J. Matthews (Eds.), Interrogating Human Origins: Decolonization and the Deep Past. Routledge.

Articles Steeves, P. (2021). "Incomplete Indigenous landscapes." Science 374, no. 6570: 945-945. Steeves, P. (2018). “Indigeneity.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Anthropology. Ed. John Jackson. Oxford University Press. Steeves, P. (2017). Unpacking Neoliberal Archaeological Control of Ancient Indigenous Heritage. Archaeologies, 13(1), 48–65. Steeves, P. (2015). Academia, Archaeology, CRM, and Tribal Historic Preservation. Archaeologies, 11(1), 121–141. Steeves, P. (2015). Decolonizing the Past and Present of the Western Hemisphere (The Americas). Archaeologies, 11(1), 42–69.