Back row from left to right: Glen Hare, Chief Rodney Nahwegahbow, Chief Angus Toulouse, and Nelson Toulouse. Front row from left to right: Shaelynn Recollet, Naomi Recollet, John Ecker, Lt.-Gov. Edith Dumont, Alicia Hawkins and Allen Toulouse (photo by Dahlia Katz)
Sarah Hazell, Alicia Hawkins and partners from Sagamok Anishnawbek, Ojibwe Cultural Foundation receive Ontario Heritage Award
Published: May 5, 2025
Sarah Hazell, a PhD student in the department of anthropology in the Faculty of Arts & Science and a member of the Nipissing First Nation, and Alicia Hawkins, an associate professor of anthropology at U of T Mississauga, are part of a team of scholars and Indigenous community partners to be recognized with a Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation.
The awards recognize individuals, groups and communities for exceptional contributions to heritage conservation.
Hazell and Hawkins were recognized for "Pathways to Reclamation: The La Cloche Cataloguing, Learning, and Sharing Project," an archaeological cataloguing project carried out in partnership with the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation and the Sagamok Anishnawbek community, and supported by the Connaught Community Partnership Research Program.
“This project grew from the idea of doing archaeology with First Nations about issues that are important to them,” said Hazell. "It has turned out to be much more than a cataloguing project. We have built important and lasting relationships with our First Nation research partners and participants. We continue to work together on improving the heritage management and stewardship of ancestors' sites and belongings."
“My students and I have learned so much through working side-by-side with people from Sagamok and Manitoulin Island on this important project," said Hawkins. "We are very grateful for the recognition and support that this project has received."
