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Draft:Ember archaeology

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  • Comment: Note that the creator of this draft has a COI with regard to its subject; see the talk page. @Ouqtu: I think you are very far away from a neutral point of view with this version. – Joe (talk) 08:15, 26 July 2024 (UTC)

Ember Archaeology
IndustryArchaeological and Cultural Heritage Consulting
FoundedEdmonton, Alberta, Canada (2008 (2008))
FounderKurtis Blaikie
Headquarters
Edmonton, Alberta
,
Canada
Number of locations
2
Area served
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, North West Territories, Yukon, Canada
Key people
Brian Leslie (MA), Kurtis Blaikie (MA), Corey Cookson (MA), Madeline Coleman (MA)
ServicesArchaeological and cultural heritage consulting
Number of employees
10 full-time permit archeologists; 20-40 seasonal
Websiteemberarchaeology.ca

Ember Archaeology (Ember) is a subsidiary of Tree Time Services Inc. (TTSI) and one of the largest Cultural Resource Management (CRM) or Historical Resource Consulting industry firms in Alberta. They have a major presence in boreal forest archaeology in the province of Alberta and increasingly, in British Columbia. Key staff, like General Manager Brian Leslie, are often quoted media experts on boreal forest archaeological issues like wildfire.[1]

History

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In Alberta, all land development projects, from urban housing developments, to highway expansions, to pipelines and oil and gas facilities, even forestry cut blocks, require heritage assessment and mitigation of impacts before approvals are granted[2]. Ember Archaeology was established as a division of TTSI occurred in 2008. The division was founded by Kurtis Blaikie.

Kurtis' regulatory skills and balanced stakeholder advocacy, had him work with the Strathcona Archaeological Society[3], and the Archaeological Society of Alberta, with indigenous groups, and government regulators to improve historical preservation and conservation efforts in the province for all parties.

In Alberta, Historical Resource Impact Assessments (HRIA)[2] and Historical Resource Impact Mitigations (HRIM) form the foundation of the regulatory work. In British Columbia, Historical Resources Overviews are widely used but are often now referred to as Archaeological Overview Assessments (AOA).

Work in British Columbia started in 2022 with Braedy Chapman. Most of that work was done in the BC interior for forestry clients and in north eastern BC for indigenous groups, non-profits, and oil and gas projects but has since expanded.

Technology and Services

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Although archaeological excavations form the foundation of work, Ember uses portable X-Ray fluorescence (pXRF)[4] to discover the chemical makeup of obsidian and other artifacts and match those to their place of origin.

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) scanning is another technological tool that is in high demand right now too.

Geomatics, GIS, predictive modeling, laboratory services, cataloguing services, project management, and similar services are all offered by Ember Archaeology. Even paleontological services are included.

Community Engagement

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The area that continues to grow the most is the area of community engagement. As the complexity of multiple stakeholders on the land causes different needs for communities.

Indigenous Relationships

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Ember and TTSI have strong long term relationships with multiple indigenous groups throughout western Canada. Some are agreements, joint ventures, and revenue sharing arrangements often with an economic development corporation. Others still are just relationships with mutual acknowledgement and support.

Tree giveaways, help in planting trees and shrubs in indigenous communities, and helping groups secure long term loans of historical artifacts from museums are some of the many ways Ember has sought to build and maintain relationships with these groups.

Reputation

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Ember's reputation is strong in industry, government, and in academia. Past alumni include Teresa Tremblay, Reid Graham[5][6], Brittany Romano[7], Corey Cookson[8], and Angela Younie. All of these alumni have worked at Ember, made significant contributions to and play key roles in the preservation and conservation of historical resources.

Clients

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Ember's client list includes a wide range of forest product companies, oil and gas companies, municipalities, government departments federally and provincially, renewable energy projects, engineering firms, mining companies, and more.

Major Projects

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  • ATCO Yellowhead Mainline
  • Keyera KAPS Pipeline[9]
  • Swan River First Nation traditional land use[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Wildfires are a double-edged sword for archeological sites". The Globe and Mail. July 22, 2023 – via www.theglobeandmail.com.
  2. ^ a b "Historic Resource Impact Assessment | Alberta.ca".
  3. ^ "The lost art of flintknapping". St. Albert Gazette. April 1, 2015.
  4. ^ "Timothy ALLAN | Project Archaeologist | Master of Arts | Research profile".
  5. ^ "People arrived in Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo area at least 11,000 years ago, finds MacEwan scientist | Fort Mcmurray Today".
  6. ^ "Massive fossil find near Morden". Winnipeg. August 27, 2008.
  7. ^ "First humans arrived in Alberta's oil sands region at least 11,000 years ago". The Globe and Mail. July 31, 2022 – via www.theglobeandmail.com.
  8. ^ "Mapping Social Cohesion in Prince Rupert Harbour, BC: A Social Application of GIS to the Archaeology of the Northwest Coast | Canadian Archaeological Association / Association canadienne d'archéologie". canadianarchaeology.com.
  9. ^ "Environmental services for Keyera KAPS project". Matrix Solutions Inc. February 8, 2023.
  10. ^ "Swan River preserves place for cultural practices – Smoky River Peace River Express". August 19, 2023.