Lisa Rankin

Position

Professor
Memorial University Research Chair, Northern Indigenous Community Archaeology
Past-Director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research
Past-President of the Canadian Archaeological Association

Contact

Email: lrankin@mun.ca
CURA Website
Tradition and Transition website

Academics

Ph.D. McMaster University, 1998
M.A.  Trent University, 1994
B.A. (Hons.) University of British Columbia, 1991

Research Interests

Post-medieval cultural encounters in the archaeological record between Labrador Inuit and Europeans, and interactions between Northeastern Indigenous populations over the past several Millennia; ethnicity and identity, landscapes, settlement patterns, eastern Sub-Arctic.

Current Research Interests

My current research focuses on the culture and history of the Labrador Inuit from the late 16th to early 19th centuries, and their changing role in increasingly global social and economic networks during that time. In particular, I am interested in the gradual change from small, egalitarian single-family households in the late 16th century, to much larger communal houses occupied by the extended families of powerful shamans/traders by the beginning of the 18th century. These latter structures indicate a radical shift in what constituted a household, and how relations within it – and with outsiders – were managed. In part, this was based on the emergence of a new class of trader merchants, skilled in transporting and trading traditional resources like seal oil, baleen and furs in exchange for newly-available exotic goods like metal tools, beads, guns, boats and cloth. My students and I have pursued this research since 2001 at a number of Inuit archaeological sites in coastal Labrador, including Snack Cove and Huntingdon Island 5 in Sandwich Bay, Double Mer Point near the community of Rigolet in Hamilton Inlet, and several sites in and around the community of Hopedale.

At the same time, I have been a researcher and director of the community-based research partnership Tradition and Transition among the Labrador Inuit. This multi-disciplinary, multi-year partnership, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), is a collaboration between Memorial University and the Nunatsiavut Government, along with other academic and community partners. It seeks to expand and deepen our understanding of Nunatsiavut history, language and culture, to help the people of Nunatsiavut realize their heritage priorities and draw on their traditional values in negotiating a path into an increasingly complex social and economic future.

Prior to this, I directed the CURA project Understanding the Past to Build the Future, a five-year multidisciplinary study of the history of the Inuit in southern Labrador, also funded by SSHRC. The research objectives included investigating the Inuit occupation of Southern Labrador, collecting and analyzing evidence of Inuit-European interactions, documenting cultural changes, and bringing the history of the southern Inuit into the present day. Research activities include archaeology, ethnography, archival study, and genealogy.

Student supervision
Ph.D. Dissertations
  • Ezenwe, Chinonso. (in progress). Research topic: TBA. (Co-supervised with Dr. Scott Neilsen).
  • Crandell, Otis. (in progress). Research topic: TBA
  • Finch, David M. (in progress). Research topic: Practicing heritage: Community-based archaeology and learning in Labrador. (SSHRC Fellowship) (Co-supervised with Dr. Scott Neilsen).
  • Møller, Kirstine Eiby (in progress). Research topic: Cultural encounters between Inuit and the Moravian Brethren in Noorliit, West Greenland.
  • Williamson, James (in progress). Research topic: Discovering Beothuk House-pits in the Exploits River Valley. (Co-supervised with Dr. Peter Whitridge).
  • Elliott, Deirdre (in progress). Research topic: The Hunt for Whales: Labrador Inuit whale use in the archaeological record. (Co-supervised with Dr. Peter Whitridge) (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Davies, Michelle (in progress). Research topic: Hebronimiut: practicing memory, identity, and archaeology with a resettled community.
  • D'Agostino, Katy (in progress). Research topic: Craft commodification and cultural preservation through a contemporary archaeology lens.
  • Onah, Rita Ujunwa (2024). An Archaeology of Resilience: Decolonizing Igbo and Labrador Inuit Histories.
  • Brake, Jamie (2022). Heritage Policy Landscapes of Nunatsiavut: A Proposed Approach to the Development of Historic Resource Management Policy and Law in Northern Labrador.
  • Jalbert, Catherine (2019).  Archaeology in Canada: An Analysis of Demographics and Working Conditions in the Discipline. (Co-supervised with Dr. Meghan Burchell).
  • Fay, Amelia (2016). Understanding Inuit-European Contact along the Labrador Coast: A Case for Continuity. (President’s Award)
  • Neilsen, Scott (2015). An Archaeological History of Ashuanipi, Labrador. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Mounier, R. Alan (2008). The Aboriginal Exploitation of Cuesta Quartzite in Southern New Jersey.
M.A. Theses
  • Sinclair, Jacinda (in progress). Research topic: Revisiting Hopedale: A Reassessment of an Inuit Whaling Community. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Johnson, Tienne. (2024). Approaches to Establishing Meaningful Partnerships with Indigenous Groups: An Examination of the Protocol from Eight Museums. (Co-supervised with Dr. Laura Kelvin). 
  • Robinson, Sarah (2022). Inuit Understanding of Space: and Oral Historical and GIS Approach to Toponyms with Knowledge Holders in Hopedale Nunatsiavut. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Wilson, Sarah (2020). Digital approaches to Inuit Archaeological Landscapes. (Co-supervised with Dr. Peter Whitridge).
  • Pouliot, Laurence (2020). Étude l'impacts interactions culturelles sur les occupants de l'habitation 1 de Double Mer Point: Développement d'une nouvelle méthodologie pour l'étude des sites de contacts. (FRQS Fellowship).
  • Jankunis, Vincent (2019). Divided but Together: Variation in 18th-Century Labrador Inuit Housing as Seen in House 3 at Double Mer Point (GbBo-2). (ISER Fellowship).
  • Bohms, Jeralyn (2015). Illuminating Inuit Life at Double Mer Point: The Excavation of an 18th-century Communal Winter House. (ISER Fellowship)
  • Hamilton, Tyrone (2015). An Experimental Geochemical Characterization Analysis of Archaeological Iron from the Central Contact Period of Newfoundland and Labrador. (ISER Fellowship). (Co-supervised with Dr. Meghan Burchell)
  • White, Lori (2015). The Saddle Island Cemetery: Human Remains at a Sixteenth-Century Basque Whaling Station.
  • Dobrota, Paulina (2014). Integrated Soil Analysis at an 18th-Century Inuit Summer Camp: Huntingdon Is 5 (FkBg-3), Sandwich Bay, South Labrador. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Davies, Michelle (2014). Changing Relations: Gender, Work and Value among the Inuit in 18th Century Labrador. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Brandy, Eliza (2013). Inuit Animal Use and Shifting Identities in 19th Century Labrador: The Zooarchaeology of Snooks Cove. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Keddy, Joshua (2013). An Analysis of Artifact Morphology and Material Frequency in Eight Early to Middle Labrador Archaic Lithic Assemblages from Northern Labrador. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Hutchings, Corey (2011). Complexity and Continuity: Labrador Archaic Occupations at Nulliak Cove. (ISER Fellowship)
  • Kelvin, Laura (2011). The Inuit-Metis of Sandwich Bay: Oral Histories and Archaeology. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Murphy, Phoebe (2011). The Southern Labrador Component of the Labrador Inuit Communal House Phase: An Analysis of an 18th-century Inuit House at Huntingdon Island 5, Sandwich Bay, Labrador. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Fleming, Robyn (2009). Robert's Cove (DjAv-05): A Transitional Recent Indian Site on the Northeast Coast. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Hardenberg, Marianne (2009). In Search of Thule Children: Miniature Playthings as a Means of Socializing Children.
  • Barnable, Stuart (2008). Rattling Brook 1 (DgAt-1): An Examination of Middle Dorest Inner Bay Settlements. (ISER Fellowship).
  • Beaudoin, Matthew (2008). An Archaeological Examination of a Multi-Ethnic Sod House in Labrador (FkBg-24). (ISER Fellowship).
  • Pace, Jessica (2008). This is Where I Live, but it's not my Home: Archaeology and Identity in Sandwich Bay, Labrador. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Brake, Jamie (2007). Ashuanipi Kupitan: Excavation at the Ferguson Bay 1 Site in Western Labrador. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Neilsen, Scott (2006). Intermediate Indians: The View from Ushpitun 2 and Pmiusiku 1. (ISER Fellowship).
  • Brewster, Natalie (2005). The Inuit in Southern Labrador: A View from Snack Cove. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Campbell, Jennifer (2004). The Huron of the Kawartha Lakes: Faunal Exploitation Strategies as Indicators of Change During the Pre, Proto and Historic Periods. (SSHRC Fellowship).
  • Wolff, Christopher (2003). Middle Dorset in Southern Labrador: An Examination of Three Small Sites from the Porcupine Strand. (ISER Fellowship).
B.A. Honours Essays
  • Hutchings, Corey (2006). Complexes and Chronology at Nulliak Cove.
  • Negrijn, Meghan (2006). Atlantic Cod Otoliths and Snack Cove Three.
  • Fleming, Robyn (2005). A Study in Lithic Debitage from Central Labrador.
  • Miles, Peter (2004). Amerindian Lithic Assemblages from the Porcupine Strand.
Selected Publications
  • Danielle L. Buss, Katrien Dierickx, Mohsen Falahati-Anbaran, Deirdre Elliott, Lisa K. Rankin, Peter Whitridge, Brenna A. Frasier, Jean-Simon Richard, Youri Van Den Hurkand James H. Barrett, 2024. Archaeological Evidence of Resource Utilization of Walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, Over the Past Two Millennia: A Systematic Review Protocol. Open Research Europe.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2024. Labrador Inuit at the Crossroads of Cultural Interaction In Before Canada, Northern North America in a Connected World, ca. 1000-1800 AD, edited by Allan Greer, pp. 193-220. McGill/Queen’s Press, Montreal.
  • Danielle L. Buss, Youri Van den Hurk, Mohsen Falahati-Anbaran, Deirdre Elliott, Sally Evans, Brenna A, Frasier, Jacqueline A. Mulville, Lisa K. Rankin, Heidrun SteberglØkken, Peter Whitridge and James H. Barrett, 2023. Archaeological Evidence of Resource Utilisation of the Great Whales Over the Past Two Millennia: A Systematic Review Protocol. PLOSone 18(12): e0295604. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295604 
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Peter Ramsden, 2023. Forgotten Places in Political Spaces.  In Peripheral Spaces in Historical Places: Insights from Archaeology in the North Atlantic, Northeast Historical Archaeology 50:142-152.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, Jamie Brake, Lena Onalik, Joan Andersen, Marjorie Flowers, Nicholas Flowers, David Igloliorte, Inez Shiwak, and Jack Shiwak, 2023. The Role of the Nunatsiavut Heritage Forum in the Development of Community Archaeology in Labrador.  Études/Inuit/Studies 46(2):271-288.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, Julia Brenan, David Finch, Scott Neilsen and Anatolijs Venovsevs, 2023. Military Legacies and Indigenous Heritage in Canada’s Newest Park Reserve. In Toxic Heritage: Legacies, Futures and Environmental Injustice, edited by Elizabeth B. Kryder-Reid and Sarah May, pp. 93-105. Routledge, New York.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Peter Ramsden, 2023. Fritz Knechtel (1900-1975): Heritage Crusader of the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada. Ontario Archaeology (2021)101:180-186.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, Laura Kelvin, Marjorie Flowers and Charlotte Wolfrey, 2021. Tourism and Archaeology in Nunatsiavut. In The Inuit World, edited by Pamela Stern, pp. 52-69. Routledge Press, New York.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Barry Gaulton, 2021. Archaeology, Participatory Democracy and Social Justice in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Archaeologies. https://rdcu.be/chHt4
  • Tom Gordon, Dave Lough and Lisa K. Rankin, 2020. Introduction. In Voices on Inuit Leadership and Self-Determination in Canada, edited by Dave Lough, pp. 11-21. ISER Press, St. John’s.
  • Harris, Alison, Deirdre Elliott, Eric Guiry, Matthew Von Tersch, Lisa K. Rankin, Peter Whitridge, Michelle Alexander, Gunilla Eriksson, & Vaughan Grimes, 2020. Diversity in Labrador Inuit sled dog diets: Insights from δ13C and δ15N Analysis of Dog Bone and Dentine Collagen. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 32:1-14.
  • Carly Ameen, Tatiana Feuerborn, Sarah Brown, Anna Linderholm, Ardern Hulme-Beaman, Ophélie Lebrasseur, Mikkel-Holger S. Sinding, Zachary Lounsberry, Audrey Lin, Martin Appelt, Lutz Bachmann,Matthew Betts, Kate Britton , John Darwent, Rune Dietz, Merete Fredholm, Shyam Gopolakrishnan, Olga I. Goriunova, Bjarne Grønnow, James Haile, Jón Hallsteinn Hallson, Ramona Harrison, Mads Peter Heide Jørgensen, Rick Knecht, Robert J. Losey, Edouard Masson-MacLean, Thomas H. McGovern, Ellen McManus-Fry, Morten Meldgaard, Åslaug Midtda, Madonna L. Moss, Iurri G. Nikitin, Tatania Nomokonova, Albína Hulda Pálsdóttir, Angela Perri, Aleksandr N. Popov, Lisa K. Rankin, Joshua D. Reuther, Mikhail Sablin, Anne Lisbeth Schmidt, Scott Shirar, Konrad Smirarowski, Christian Sonne, Mary C. Stiner, Mitya Vasyukov, Catherine F. West, Gro Birgit Ween, Sanne Eline Wennerberg, Øystein Wiig, James Woollett, Love Dalen, Anders J. Hansen, Tom Gilbert, Benjamin Sacks, Laurent Frantz, Greger Larson, Keith Dobney, Christyann Darwent, and Allowen Evin, 2019. Specialized Sled Dogs Accompanied Inuit Dispersal Across the North American Arctic. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 286(1929):1-10 plus appendices.
  • Barry Gaulton and Lisa K. Rankin, 2018. Archaeological Heritage as a Catalyst for Public Engagement, Rural Rejuvenation, and Rethinking our Shared Past: Reflections from a Quarter Century of Community Archaeology in Newfoundland and Labrador. História Questões & Debates 66(2):19-44.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2018. Towards a Beothuk Archaeology: Merging Indigenous Agency with the Material Record. In Traces of Ochre, edited by Fiona Polack, pp. 177-198. University of Toronto Press, Toronto.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Amanda Crompton, 2016. Kayaks and Chaloupes: Labrador Inuit and the Seascapes of Cultural Contact. In Marine Ventures: Archaeological Perspectives on Human-Sea Relations, edited by Hein Bjerck, Heidi M. Breivik, Silje E. Frentheim, Ernesto L. Piana, Birgitte Skar, Angélica M. Tivoli, A. Francisco and J. Zangrando, pp. 383-398. Equinox Publishing, Sheffield, England
  • Amanda Crompton and Lisa K. Rankin, 2016. Chaloupes and Kayaks: French Mariners and the Seascapes of Cultural Contact. In Marine Ventures: Archaeological Perspectives on Human-Sea Relations, edited by Hein Bjerck Heidi M. Breivik, Silje E. Frentheim, Ernesto L. Piana, Birgitte Skar, Angélica M. Tivoli, A. Francisco and J. Zangrando, pp. 311-323. Equinox Publishing, Sheffield, England.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Amanda Crompton, 2016. Meeting in the Straits: Intersecting Inuit and European Trajectories in Southern Labrador. In Contacts in the 16th Century: Networks among Fishers, Foragers and Farmers, edited by Brad Loewen and Claude Chapdelaine pp. 11-29. Mercury Series Archaeology Paper #176, Canadian Museum of History and the University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2015. Identity Markers: Interpreting Sod-house Occupation in Sandwich Bay, Labrador. Études/Inuit/Studies 39(1):91-116.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, Marianne Stopp and Amanda Crompton (Editors), 2015. The Inuit of Southern Labrador. Études/Inuit/Studies 39(1).
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2015. Trading and Raiding in Southern Labrador: French and Inuit Entanglement in the 18th Century. In La Présence Française à Terre-Neuve- et - Labrador : D'hier à Demain. The French Presence in Newfoundland and Labrador: Past, Present and Future. Edited by Scott Jamieson, Anne Pelta and Anne Thareau, pp. 140-158. Newfoundland and Labrador Studies, Occasional Publication no.3, St. John’s.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2014. Inuit Settlement on the Southern Frontier. In History and Renewal of Labrador’s Inuit-Métis, edited by John Kennedy, pp. 38-61. ISER Press, St. John’s.
  • Phoebe Murphy and Lisa K. Rankin, 2014. Exploring the Communal House Phase in Sandwich Bay. In History and Renewal of Labrador’s Inuit-Métis, edited by John Kennedy, pp. 62-74. ISER Press, St. John’s.
  • Laura Kelvin and Lisa K. Rankin, 2014. The Inuit-Metis of Sandwich Bay: Oral Histories and Archaeology. In History and Renewal of Labrador’s Inuit-Métis, edited by John Kennedy, pp. 120-134. ISER Press, St. John’s.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2013. The Role of the Inuit in the European Settlement of Sandwich Bay, Labrador. In Exploring Atlantic Transitions: Archaeologies of Transience and Permanence in New Found Lands, edited by Peter Pope with Shannon Lewis-Simpson, pp. 310-319. Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology Monograph no. 8. Boydell and Brewer, Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Amanda Crompton, 2013. The Labrador Metis and the Politics of Identity: Understanding the Past to Negotiate a Sustainable Future. International Journal of Heritage and Sustainable Development 3(1):71-79.
Recent Presentations
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Amanda Crompton, 2021. The Gender of Contact: Centering Inuit Women in Foreign Encounters. Paper presented at the Canadian Coastal Histories Conference, November 2021.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Peter Ramsden, 2021 Safe as Houses: Considerations of Domestic Arrangements and Power Structures. Paper presented at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, (digital) April 2021.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2019. Meeting in the Straits: Inuit at the Crossroads of Cultural Interaction. Paper presented at the Before Canada Conference, McGill University, Montreal, October 2019.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, Laura Kelvin, Marjorie Flowers and Charlotte Wolfrey, 2019. Applying a Community Archaeology Approach in Nunatsiavut. Paper Presented at the 21st Inuit Studies Conference. Montreal, October 2019.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2019. Geographical Isolation as a Catalyst for Social Change among the Labrador Inuit. Paper presented at the 52nd Annual Canadian Archaeological Association Conference. Quebec City, May 2019.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Barry Gaulton, 2019. Archaeology, Advocacy and the Public Good. Paper to be presented at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Albuquerque, April 2019.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2018. Archaeology and Alternative Tourism in Nunatsiavut. Paper presented at the ArcticNet 2018 Conference, Ottawa, December 2018.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Peter Ramsden, 2018. Forgotten Places in Political Spaces. Paper presented at the Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology Annual Meeting. Halifax, October 2018.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Jamie Brake, 2018. Coastal Erosion and Climate Change in Newfoundland and Labrador. Paper presented at the 51st Annual Canadian Archaeological Association Conference. Winnipeg, May 2018.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2018. Demography in the Details: Assessing Labrador Inuit Village Populations During the Contact Era. Presented at the Populating Coastal Landscapes Conference, Alta, Norway. September 2018.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2017. Early Collectors and the Creation of the Unknown Labrador. Paper presented at the 50th Annual Canadian Archaeological Association Conference. Gatineau, May 2017.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Vince Jankunis, 2017. Sustaining Identity: Interpreting Labrador Inuit Communal Houses in Southern Labrador. Paper presented at the 50th Annual Canadian Archaeological Association Conference. Gatineau, May 2017.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2017. Research as Reconciliation in the Canadian North. School for the Study of Canada. Trent University, Peterborough. February 2017.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2017. Exploring Labrador Inuit Ethnicity through Archaeology. Presented to the Département des sciences historiques, Université Laval, QC. January 2017.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2016. Rethinking the In-Between: Current Archaeological Research at Double Mer Point, Labrador. Paper presented at the 20th Biennial Inuit Studies Conference. St. John’s, October, 2016.
  • Barry Gaulton and Lisa K. Rankin, 2016. Archaeological Heritage as a Catalyst for Public Engagement, Rural Rejuvenation, and Rethinking our Shared Past: Perspectives from a Quarter Century of Community Archaeology in Newfoundland and Labrador. Paper presented at the Association for Critical Heritage Studies. Montreal, June 2016.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2016. Untangling and Interpreting Inuit Ethnicity(ies) in Southern Labrador. Paper Presented at the 49th Annual Canadian Archaeological Association Conference. Whitehorse, May 2016.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2015. Shifting Targets: How Ancient Inuit Settlement Strategies Impact Modern Land Claims. Paper presented at Aboriginal Citizenship in the 21st Century: A Time for Challenge and Change Conference. St. John’s, March 2015
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2014. Trading and Raiding in Southern Labrador. Paper presented at the Trent University 50th Anniversary Celebrations. Peterborough, October 2014.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Amanda Crompton, 2014. We Know You’re Down There: Inuit Perspectives on Intercultural Engagement in Southern Labrador. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Quebec City, QC, January 2014.
  • Amanda Crompton and Lisa K. Rankin, 2014. We Know You’re Up There: French Perspectives on Intercultural Engagement in Southern Labrador. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology, Quebec City, QC, January 2014.
  • Lisa K. Rankin, 2013. The Dynamics of Intercultural Interaction as Seen from Sandwich Bay, Labrador. Paper Presented at the 46th Annual Chacmool Archaeology Conference, Calgary, AB, November 2013.
  • Lisa K. Rankin and Amanda Crompton, 2013. Kayaks and Chaloupes: Labrador Inuit and the Seascapes of Cultural Contact. Paper presented at the Marine Ventures International Symposium, Trondheim Norway, September 2013.
Recent Awards
  • 2024 Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. 
  • 2024 Smith-Wintemberg Award for Outstanding Contributions to Canadian Archaeology. Canadian Archaeological Association.
  • 2021 Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
  • 2016 President’s Award for Public Engagement Partnerships (with Rigolet)
  • 2016 Geoffrey Marshall Mentoring Award, Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools.
  • 2018 Memorial University, Dean’s Award for Distinguished Scholarship
  • 2013 President's Award for Outstanding Graduate Supervision
  • 2012 Memorial University, Dean’s Award for Outstanding Graduate Supervision.
  • 2022-2024 SSHRC Insight Development Grant (Co-PI).
  • 2020 CFI JELF (PI)
  • 2015-2023 SSHRC Partnership Grant (PI)
  • 2010-2014 IRIF, Leverage Grant (PI).
  • 2010-2012 SSHRC Public Outreach Grant (PI).
  • 2009-2014 SSHRC CURA (PI) (Meritorious).