By Dorthea Calverley In examining the position of the Indian in contemporary Canada and in examining the sequence of events that brought him here, at least two viewpoints are possible. Neither is valid to the exclusion of the other; rather both are true, and full understanding of the Indians’ present and past cannot exclude either… Read More

by Dorthea Calverley Daniel Williams Harmon was a Northwest Company trader from the state of Vermont. He arrived at Fort Dunvegan on the Peace River on October 10, 1808, and at once fell in love with the country. His records tell that the winter he spent at Dunvegan was the “most agreeable one that [he… Read More

by Dorthea Calverley Several readers of this division have pointed out that I approached this subject of Indian origins in a somewhat illogical and contradictory fashion. I would like to make it clear that that is precisely what I intended to do because it is a reflection of the most learned thinking on the subject…. Read More

by Dorthea Calverley Archeologists of the National Museum of Canada are trying to reconstruct the history of Canada before the white men came. They want to know where the Indians came from, and what kind of culture they brought with them. Most scientists agree that most Indians came from Asia, because the races of northeastern… Read More

by Dorthea Calverley Some Indians, at least, have different ideas about their origin. Mr. J.S. Gowland, formerly an Alberta Forest Ranger, became friendly with a full-blood Indian chief, who had had a University education, but returned to his people. Speaking on the subject of the origins of the Indian people he said “Our history extends… Read More

by Dorthea Calverley For many years, almost nobody except the Indians has questioned the theory that man entered the Americas by way of the Bering Strait during the existence of the land bridge [Beringia] between Asia and North America during the last glaciation. Many India tribes maintain a strong belief that “We were always here!… Read More

(Adapted by Dorthea Calverley from The Beaver Men, by Mari Sandoy) The beaver is perhaps the world’s most orderly and responsible creature . . . Plainly the beaver was adaptable. Herbivorous (plant eating) without defense of hoof, horn, tusk or shell and without speed or guile, the beaver in America managed to remain practically unchanged,… Read More

by Dorthea Calverley Trifles may give clues to age-old mysteries. The characteristics of the wax in a human ear may be no trifle in unlocking the mystery of the origin of the Indian. In his 1972 book, Strong Medicine, Dr. Robert E McKechnie wrote: “There is some medical evidence of the Siberian origin if the… Read More

by Dorthea Calverley The forty-year sojourn of Buddhist monks [on the Pacific coast] under leader Hoei-Shin is discussed in some detail in our chapter on Missionaries. This refers to a voyage from China to the area around Vancouver, BC in the year 458 AD and return of the expedition in 498 or 499 AD, recorded… Read More

Notes and comments by Dorthea Calverley from: An Introduction to the Archeology of Alberta, Canada (Denver Museum of Natural History, p.13) We have noted that the earliest migrants into the New World may well have passed through Alberta on their way south, although proof is lacking. What, however, of later migrations? There are certain traits such… Read More