Arianne Ettehadieh has received the inaugural Vice-Principal Research Undergraduate Prize for her presentation at the Inquiry @ Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference that took place on March 7th and 8th, 2024. Of the more than 45 presentations on a range of interdisciplinary topics, Arianne's paper was identified as one of the top two papers presented at the conference. Arianne will also be interviewed by CFRC in the coming weeks, so please watch for more details on the upcoming interview.
At the I@Q Conference, Arianne presented the research that she has completed for her HIST 515 Independent Research Project this year under the supervision of Dr. Scott Berthelette. Arianne's presentation was titled The Historical Erasure of the W8banaki Nation in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. She explains:
The history of the W8banaki Nation, semi-nomadic hunters, fishers, and gathers from the Algonquian language family, has been frequently misrepresented by colonial-era histories. The Ndakina, which means “our territory,” in the W8banaki language, includes what is today known as Quebec, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and parts of Massachusetts and New Brunswick. However, European colonization condensed this vast homeland into two separate reserves in southeastern Quebec. One of these is Odanak, a 6km2 parcel of land on the shore of the Saint-François River, near Drummondville. The second reserve, Wôlinak, is situated 50km farther east on the Bécancour River.
Some historians today do not consider southeastern Quebec the ancestral territory of the W8banaki Nation. They believe that eighteenth-century colonial wars, disease, and famine drove the population to seek “refuge” north of their well-documented territories in Maine and New Hampshire. This project will question the historical erasure of the W8banaki Nation in Quebec using historical research and a multidisciplinary approach. European travel narratives are examined to retrace W8banaki subsistence patterns, alliances, conflicts, and locations through the eyes of European explorers and missionaries.
In conjunction with these descriptions, recent archaeological discoveries show that the network of rivers and lakes within the Ndakina were well-traversed by the W8banaki before European contact. The toponyms associated with these important waterways in Quebec closely resemble W8banaki language terms, indicating the W8banaki Nation’s long-term presence in the area. Additionally, important frameworks established by Indigenous historians recognize the important cultural kinship ties between the W8banaki, Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Innu peoples. The proximity and overlapping territories fostered ancient relationships seen in their parallel subsistence patterns, trade networks, and conflicts. Overall, this project brings to life the very real and legitimate ancestral presence of the W8banaki Nation in southeastern Quebec, while also enlightening the reader on Canada’s colonial roots.
Arianne is currently completing her final year of her History Major and is a member of the Peer Advising Team in History. In fall 2023, Arianne's research proposal for HIST 515 was awarded the Rivard-Prendergast Studentship award.
The department wishes a heartfelt congratulations to Arianne on this well-deserved achievement!
