Dr. Andrew Martindale and his colleagues in the Canadian Archeological Association Working Group on Unmarked Graves (CAAWGUG) have received a 2024 Governor General’s Innovation Award for the development of resources for those affected by the search for missing children and unmarked burials.
The CAAWGUG was formed in May 2021 and, drawing on many years of experience searching for missing children from residential schools, developed guidance for Indigenous communities conducting searches. By 2022, this included overviews and detailed technical documents in video and written form as well as course and training materials for survivors, their families, and their communities. The CAAWGUG continues to lead the nation with guidance, training, support and assistance for communities conducting searches from children who disappeared from residential schools.
The CAAWGUG is composed of 15 scholars from across Canada, from within institutions of higher learning and Indigenous communities. Their collective awards are considerable.
Committee chair, Dr. Kisha Supernant (Anthropology, U Alberta) is a member of the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars and a Dorothy Killam Fellow. Nomination lead, Dr. Andrew Martindale (Anthropology, UBC) is the recipient of numerous SSHRC grants, a Killam Research Prize, and is this year’s recipient of the SSHRC Impact Award (Connections).
Congratulations to the Committee: Dr. Kisha Supernant (Chair), Dr. Andrew Martindale, Dr. Lisa Hodgetts, Dr. Sarah Beaulieu, Dr. Adrian Burke, Ms. Micaela Champagne, Dr. Terence Clark, Mr. Stephen Daniel, Dr. Peter Dawson, Mr. Edward Eastaugh, Dr. Colin Grier, Dr. Scott Hamilton, Ms. Sarah Hazell, Mr. Joshua Murphy, Mr. William Wadsworth.
The Governor General Innovation Awards recognize and celebrate exceptional and transformational Canadian innovations, which are creating a positive impact in Canada and beyond, while also inspiring the next generation of innovators.
The 2023 GGIA ceremony will be live-streamed on Thursday, May 18th, 2023, at 7 p.m. ET during Canadian Innovation Week #CIW (May 15th to 19th).
