Paulette Steeves. PhD (Cree- Metis) is an Indigenous archaeologist. She was born in Whitehorse Yukon Territories, and grew up in Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada. She is a first generation college graduate. She began her undergraduate studies as a non-traditional student with a GED (grade 12 equivalency) having not had the opportunity to attend high school. When she began her studies she he was a single parent with three young children. During her first year of college she worked at the University of Arkansas full time, took classes in the afternoon and evenings, and earned a full ride scholarship, and entrance to the honors program in anthropology. Her research is focused on the Pleistocene history of the Western Hemisphere, Indigenous histories, and healing and reconciliation. Steeves argues that Indigenous peoples were present in the Western Hemisphere as early as 100,000 years ago, and possibly much earlier. She has created a database of hundreds of archaeology sites in both North and South America that date from 250,000 to 12,000 years before present, which challenges the Clovis First dogma of a post 12,000 year before present initial migrations to the Americas. Dr. Steeves received her BA in Anthropology, Honors Cum Laude from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and completed a two year internship with the Quapaw NAGPRA program during her undergraduate studies. In 2008 Dr. Steeves was awarded the Clifford D. Clark fellowship to attend graduate studies at Binghamton University in New York State. Dr. Steeves has taught Anthropology courses with a focus on Native American and First Nations histories, and decolonization of academia and knowledge production. She is currently an Associate Professor in Sociology at Algoma University, and a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous History Healing and Reconciliation .
