Projects and Reports
Not just a lobbiest for Beothuk research, the Beothuk Institute contributes both in-kind and financially to projects relative to its overall mission. The majority of the projects we support are labour and time intensive, sometimes taking several years to produce results.
Some of our Projects
- DNA Research led by Memorial University and McMaster University
- Reproductions of 11 pieces of artwork by Gerry Squires (products sold by Beothuk Institute)
- “Spirit of the Beothuk”, bronze statue by Gerry Squires (Beothuk Interpretation Centre, Boyd’s Cove)
- Commemoration Project, Burnside Heritage Foundation
Archaeology Digs
- Exploits River (various from Red Indian Lake to Norris Arm)
- The Beaches, Bonavista Bay
- Bloody Bay Cove Quarry, Bonavista Bay
Note: Archaeology Digs are led by the Provincial Archaeology Office, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Reports and Papers
This is the second of two archaeological field seasons conducted under the Tracing Shanawdithit Archaeological Project. The findings have greatly enhanced our understanding of Beothuk life and older human occupations in the Badger Bay region. Consulting Archaeologist Laurie McLean provides a summary of the work done in 2023 by a group of archaeologists (McLean, Moulton, Strictland and Roberts).
Click HERE to read the full report (accessible to members only)
Consulting Archaeologist, Laurie McLean, gives an overview of historical information of the Little Passage and Beothuk presence in Newfoundland as well as new archeological evidence (2022) of Beothuk life in the Badger Bay area. McLean concludes that “the success of the 2022 Badger Bay field season implies that further well‐planned archaeological inquiry will identify some of the 40 Beothuk wigwams”…
Click HERE to read the full report (accessible to members only)
Consutling Archaeologist, Laurie McLean, reports on two of the 2021 projects which assessed erosion and anticipated impacts of climate change on many coastal archaeological sites
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The paper by Consulting Archaeologist, Laurie McLean, presents a recap of past research and future prospects.
Abstract: “Newfoundland’s Beothuk people and their ancestors have a long legacy of contact with early European visitors to North America. Historical and archaeological research shows that this interaction was often unpredictable and sporadic. Not surprisingly, the Beothuk reaction to a massive European economic venture in Newfoundland, starting in the sixteenth century, was complex and non-linear. Continued research promises to add additional sub-plots to the main story line. “
Click HERE to read the full report (accessible to members only)
Beothuk Housepits: Barometers of Historic Transition (2020) by Consulting Archaeologist, Laurie McLean.
Abstract: “Newfoundland and Labrador’s Beothuk Indians were considered extinct by 1829. Historical and archaeological data depict a gradual Beothuk withdrawl from coastal Newfoundland as European economic activity and settlement increased. Recent interpretation of Beothuk housepit morphology, along with their distribution and associated assemblages, shows that Beothuk did not uniformly respond to the influx of newcomers. This has implications for Beothuk settlement / subsistence activities, material culture and relations with Europeans pertaining to temporal and locational parameters.”
Click HERE to read the full report (accessible to members only)
Check out what they discovered at Sabbath Point and the salvage operations that took place in 2018. Report preapared by Consulting Archaeologist, Laurie McLean.
“Hopefully excavations will continue at this important site and other Exploits Valley localities to obtain these important data before they are lost to erosion and associated negative impacts.”
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Consulting Archaeologist Laurie McLean was contracted by Newfoundland and Labrador’s Provincial Archaeology Office (PAO) to direct a number of Beothuk‐focussed field projects in 2016. One of these took place at a site on the shore of the Exploits River and two projects took place at Red Indian Lake. Retired Grand Falls‐Windsor outfitter Don Pelley and Grand Falls‐Windsor resident Penny Wells assisted in this research.
Click HERE to read the full report (accessible to members only)
Consulting Archaeologist, Laurie McLean, sheds insights on archaeology research done in 2015. McLean, assisted by local resident, Don Pelley, was able to re-identify 51 of the 107 previously identified housepits. Learn about their findings and the impacts of erosion, forest growth and human activity.
Click HERE to read the full report (accessible to members only)
Consulting Archaeologist Laurie McLean directed two research projects at known Beothuk sites on islands in the Exploits River in 2014. The two islands cannot be named in order to protect them from illegal digging. Grand Falls resident Don Pelley provided guide/boat operating and archaeological assistance in both endeavours. Memorial University graduate, Don Crane, assisted on one of the islands.
Historical and archaeological information attest to an intensive Beothuk occupation of the Exploits River system from 1750‐1829. Consulting Archaeologist Laurie McLean and Don Pelley were contracted by the PAO in 2013 to re‐visit an Exploits River
island and conduct a detailed search for important Beothuk features that were undetectable during 2012 research.
Click HERE to read the full report (accessible to members only)
Note: To access reports and papers you must be a current member of the Beothuk Institute with annual fees paid in full. Membership costs $15/calendar year (January through December).
Newsletters 2009 to 2014 provide summaries of activities along with articles relevant to each year.
You, too, can be involved!
As a volunteer organization, our work is made possible only through the generosity of people who are interested in the Beothuk. All proceeds from donations and membership fees go toward the work of the Institute and special projects that contribute to the advancement of our mission.
Note: We are a registered charitable organization under the laws of Newfoundland and Labrador. Donations are tax deductible.