Archaeological Expertise as a Component of the Process of Territorial Management and Affirmation of the Grand Council of the Waban-Aki Nation
The Ndakinna is the traditional territory of the Abenaki. The Abenaki or « People of the dawn » are the southernmost Algonquiian First Nation of the province of Quebec. Since 2013, the Ndakinna Office has been mandated by the Councils of the Abenaki of Odanak and Wôlinak to conduct territorial consultations. In order to achieve this, the Office employs archaeology within many projects related to land management and for the affirmation of the traditional territory of the W8banaki Nation. For the Ndakinna Office, archaeology is a powerful tool for self-determination, as well as a means for protecting and managing the ecosystems that are essential to the Nation, documenting historic W8banakiak sites and patterns of land use, and to extert scientific influence through outreach .