Prof. Kenneth (K. C. A.) Dawson, CD, MA


Kenneth Cephus Arnold (K.C.A.) Dawson was raised in southern Ontario and schooled in Toronto. After serving overseas in the RCAF during the Second World War, he completed his Master's degree in anthropology at the University of Toronto in 1951.
 
During the 1950s, he worked with several prominent archaeologists including: Drs. Richard "Scotty" MacNeish, James V. Wright, and Walter A Kenyon.
 
In 1965, Ken joined the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Lakehead University as an Assistant Professor. During the late 1960's he actively promoted the development of an independent Department of Anthropology. This goal was realized in the fall of 1973 with the establishment of the Department of Anthropology consisting of Professors M H Greenwood, T Kreps, and K C A Dawson as the Department Chair. In the fall of 1976, a second major initiative by Ken was accomplished with the commencement of the Lakehead University Native Studies Programme within the Department of Anthropology.
 
In addition to his primary position, Ken served on a number of additional committees and organizations within Lakehead University including: being appointed the Director of the Lakehead University Centre for Regional Development in 1981 and being a member of the Lakehead University Senate.
 
Ken was also an active member of the greater anthropological community. He was a founding member of the Canadian Archaeological Association in 1968, the Society for Historical Archaeological in 1967 and the Canadian Rock Art Research Association. Additionally, Ken served on the editorial boards for the journals Man in the Northeast and Multiculturalism. 
 
Ken was one of the foremost archaeologists in northwestern Ontario and the eastern Boreal Forest in general. He served as a teacher and mentor to many. Some of the largest archaeological research projects in the Boreal Forest were directed by him; many regions had not been examined prior to his surveys. In 1968, he initiated the excavation of Fort William to provide basic data for the reconstruction of the Ministry of Culture's 'Jewel of the North' - the Old Fort William, which is now such an important tourist draw to the Thunder Bay area. Many of his written works, some about these large projects, continue to be read and referenced as an integral part of Canadian Boreal Forest archaeology.
 
Ken retired from Lakehead University in 1988. He continued to live in Thunder Bay and write about archaeology and history for many years. Unfortunately, Ken passed away in July 2009.  The world will be a little sadder for his loss but so much richer because of his life and the legacy that he leaves behind.
 
 
Education:

1951 MA (Archaeology), University of Toronto
 
Selected Major Funding From:
  • Canada Council
  • National Museums of Canada
  • Indian Affairs and Northern Development
  • Ontario Archaeological and Historic Sites Board
  • Ontario Heritage Foundation
  • Quetico Foundation 
  • Arctic Institute (Polar Gas Impact Study)
  • Ontario Departments of Lands and Forests, Public Records and Archives, Tourism and Information 
Selected Publications:
 
 2004 Original People and Euro-Canadians in Northwestern Ontario. Northern and Regional Studies Series Vol 11. Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, On.

 1999 Archaeologists in the Continental Boreal Province: A Personal Recollection. Ontario Archaeology 67:23-39.
 
 1997 Contributions and Personalities of the Archaeologists Who Breached the Continental Boreal Forest of Canada. The Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Papers and Records 25:24-44.
 
 1988 Archaeological Licensing in Fiji. Wanikan 88(2):2-4.
  
 1987 Northern Ontario and the Early Contact Period: the Northern Ojibwa from 1615-1715. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 11:143-180.

 1987 The Martin-Bird Site. Ontario Archaeology 47:33-57.
 
 1984 A History of Archaeology in Northern Ontario to 1983 with Bibliographic Contributions. Ontario Archaeology 42:27-92.
 
 1983  Prehistory of the Interior Forest of Northern Ontario. In Boreal Forest Adaptations: Algonkians of Northern Ontario, edited by A.T. Steegman Jr., pp. 55-83. Plenum Press, New York.
 
 1983 Lac des Mille Lacs Archaeological Reconnaissance. Manitoba Archaeological Quarterly 7(2-3):55-75.
 
 1983 Cummins Site: A Late Palaeo-Indian (Plano) Site at Thunder Bay, Ontario. Ontario Archaeology 39:3-31.
 
 1983  The Prehistory of Northern Ontario. Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, Thunder Bay. 

 1982 The Northern Ojibwa of Ontario. In Approaches to Algonquian Archaeology, edited by M.G. Hanna and B. Kooyman, pp.81-96. Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Chacmool Conference. University of Calgary, Calgary.
 
 1981 Prehistoric Stone Features on the Relic North Shore of Lake Superior. In Megaliths to Medicine Wheels: Boulder Structures in Archaeology, edited by M. Wilson, K.L. Road and K.J. Hardy, pp.297-312. Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Chacmool Conference. University of Calgary, Calgary.
 
 1981 The Wabinosh River Site and the Laurel Tradition in Northwest Ontario. Ontario Archaeology 36:3-46.
 
 1980 The MacGillivray Site: A Laurel Tradition Site in Northwestern Ontario. Ontario Archaeology 34:45-68.
 
 1979 The Pukaskwa Religious Stone Features of Lake Superior. In Papers from the Fourth Biennial Conference of the Canadian Rock Art Research Associates, October 27-30, 1977, Victoria, British Columbia, edited by Doris Lundy. British Columbia Museum Heritage Record 8:255-268, Victoria. 
 
 1979 Algonkian Huron-Petun Ceramics in Northern Ontario. Man in the Northeast 18:14-31.
  
 1978 The Mound Island Site: A Multi-Component Woodland Period Habitation Site in Northwestern Ontario. Ontario Archaeology 30:47-66.
 
 1977 An Application of the Direct Historical Approach to the Algonkians of Northern Ontario. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 1:151-181.
 
 1977 Northwestern Ontario Historic Populations. Man in the Northeast 13:66-77.
 
 1976  Algonkians of Lake Nipigon: An Archaeological Survey. Archaeological Survey of Canada Paper No. 48, National Museum of Man, Mercury Series, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa.
 
 1976  Albany River Survey, Patricia District, Ontario. Archaeological Survey of Canada Paper No. 51, National Museum of Man, Mercury Series, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa.
 
 1975 The Western Area Algonkians. In Papers of the Sixth Algonquian Conference 1974, pp. 30-41. Canadian Ethnology Service Paper No. 23, National Museum of Man, Mercury Series, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa.
 
 1975 Underwater Search for Lost Fur Trade Goods in Northern Ontario. The Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Papers and Records 3:27-34.

 1974 The McCluskey Site: A Terminal Woodland Period Blackduck Tradition Manifestation in the District of Thunder Bay, Northwestern Ontario. Archaeological Survey of Canada Paper No. 25, National Museum of Man, Mercury Series, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa.

 1970 Preliminary Archaeological Investigation of Fort William in Northwestern Ontario. Historical Archaeology 4:34-50. 
 
 1969 Archaeological Investigations at the Site of the Longlac Historic Trading Post, Thunder Bay District, Ontario. Ontario Archaeology 12:1-62.

 1966 The Kaministikwia Intaglio Dog Effigy Mound. Ontario Archaeology 9:25-34.

 1966 Isolated Copper Artifacts from Northwestern Ontario. Ontario Archaeology 9:63-67.