Kelsey Pennanen

Kelsey Pennanen is an archaeologist and educator who grew up in northwestern Ontario. She is passionate about advocating for Indigenous heritage protection and decolonizing historical pedagogies for reconciliation. She completed her bachelor's at Lakehead University. She is currently a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of Calgary. Her research is based on collaborative partnerships with Indigenous communities. Together, they focus on the visualization and digital archiving of threatened Indigenous cultural and heritage sites. Additionally, she creates visual media alternatives for education and tourism purposes, with the goal of knowledge dissemination of research to the wider Canadian public. In tandem with Blackfoot Knowledge Keepers and Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, she has developed a youth archaeology program to establish a connection to the land, past, and community. Kelsey has worked on Treaty 7 Territory in Alberta and is now working on the traditional territories of several self-governing First Nations in the Yukon.