Petun to Wyandot: The Ontario Petun from the Sixteenth Century

Editors’ Foreword

xxv Editors’ Foreword Petun toWyandot is a distillation of a much larger volume assembled by Mr. Charles Garrad over the course of nearly 15 years. A copy of that manuscript has been deposited in the Archives of the Canadian Museum of History and is available for public consultation. The interested reader will find in that document additional information pertaining to the Petun and the Wyandot that was judged to be more peripheral to the topic of Petun archaeology but which nonetheless informs the subject. Petun toWyandot represents a rare body of knowledge. It is the painstaking and loving accumulation of a lifetime’s work dedicated to learning about one group, the Petun, the ancestors of today’s Wyandot peoples. It is a very personal approach to the study of the archaeological remains of the Petun region as, some 40 years ago in Oklahoma, Mr. Garrad was formally adopted into the Wyandot Nation. While Mr. Garrad is not university trained, he associated with and incorporated into his projects many who were,learning from them and applying the best professional standards available. Students of archaeology and professionals alike participated in his research,providing valuable feedback and criticism, spurring Mr. Garrad on to new thinking and approaches. Throughout his decades-long research into the Petun past,Mr.Garrad published incessantly with an eye to sharing his information, his thoughts and also in order to elicit constructive commentary. While this book represents what will likely be Charles Garrad’s last substantial published words on the archaeology of the Petun, let no one think that these are his final thoughts on the many issues embodied by this publication. There are most assuredly more where these came from! Working on this manuscript has been a distinct privilege, though cutting the original very long manuscript by nearly 20 percent posed a distinct challenge. In our work,we were always keenly aware of Mr.Garrad’s voice and intent,and tried,with each editorial decision, to respect both of these. We sincerely hope that we have achieved a just balance. We would also like to thank Rudy Fecteau for photographing the Petun artifacts which grace the pages of this book, as well as Andrew Stewart who drafted the many fine maps which illustrate the distributions of sites throughout Petunia at various times. But most of all, we would like to thank Charles Garrad who allowed us to roll up our sleeves and participate in the creation of this legacy for the Petun, the Wyandot, and the people of the Blue Mountain region. Jean-Luc Pilon William Fox Curator of Ontario Archaeology Adjunct Professor Canadian Museum of History Anthropology Graduate Program Gatineau, Québec Trent University Peterborough, Ontario ...