Month: October 2026

The McDougall letter: document conservation at the University of Calgary

The McDougall letter: document conservation at the University of Calgary

Jared

Editor’s note: Sara Bohuch has been a conservator in the University of Calgary’s LCR (Libraries and Cultural Resources) Department since May 2023. She received her MSc in Conservation Practice from Cardiff University (Wales) and, since moving back to Alberta, has completed conservation projects on everything from saddles to staircases. Her recent work at the U of C is with the photographs, archival papers and other surprises that can be found within the Glenbow Library and Archives portion of the LCR department.

The banner image above was photographed by Sara Bohuch.

Written by: Sara Bohuch, BA Archaeology (Simon Fraser University), MSc Conservation Practice (Cardiff University)

Archival records can give the illusion of a neat and tidy history. The material is almost the definition of unassuming: boxes of paper sitting in a temperature-controlled room, organized for ease of access and use. But any foray into reading the seemingly innocuous records that make up a library or archive quickly reveals a truth: what may seem like dusty, logistical data can be particularly complicated.

An example of this can be found in a letter filed away on the shelves of the Glenbow Archives. The letter is part of the George and John McDougall family fonds, a collection made up of two metres of textual records, 490 photographs and two postcard albums that pertain to the family’s time in Alberta. Most of it was transferred to the Glenbow in 1968, with additional components donated in the decades that followed.

Identification image for the letter, Treaty Commissioner Alexander Morris to Reverand George McDougall. Source: Sara Bohuch, staff conservator.

The letter in question dates to 1875 and was written to one of the family’s patriarchs. It’s a dry inquiry (in both its material nature and its topic) from a politician in Manitoba. But the contents become much more interesting when you realize their direct connection to the creation of Treaty 6:

“To the Reverend George McDougall of the Saskatchewan –

Sir

I have to request you to proceed to the Saskatchewan Region, as a messenger from me, and inform the Cree Indians of the Saskatchewan, that the Government of the Queen, will send Her Commissioners to make Treaties with them next summer at Fort Carlton and Fort Pitt, towards the end of July or beginning of August next:

The Queen is mindful of all her Indian children, and has not forgotten the Crees.

In the meantime, I ask the Crees to live at peace with other Indians, and the Whites, and not to interfere with any surveyors or other servants or subjects of the Queen in any of their operations.

The Queen, has always dealt justly with Her Indian Children, and has their good at heart.

This letter will be your authority for delivering the message I send by you, and you can show it to any Chiefs you meet.

Given at Government House

Fort Garry, Manitoba

This ninth day of August A.D. 1875 –

Under my hand and seal.

Alex. Morris

Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories”

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Teaching old dogs new tricks: ageing canids from Junction site, Alberta

Jared

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt summary of a study by Megan Beiraugle et al. For more details, the full study and references can be found here.

Written by: Megan Bieraugle

Despite their tight connection to people over the past several thousand years, understanding the past lives of dogs and wolves is a challenge. Ancient canine companions in Alberta are no different. Despite more than 300 archaeological sites in Alberta having canids (dogs, wolves, coyotes and foxes), we know comparatively very little about their relationships with Indigenous people. One of the best ways for understanding the lives of archaeological dogs stems from age-at-death studies; essentially asking, “how old was this critter when it died?”

A wolfdog at the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary, Alberta. Source: Megan Bieraugle.

Traditional age-at-death studies involve destructive methods, where a sliver of bone or tooth is cut from the fossil and examined. A recent method, developed by Bieraugle et al. (2025), avoids causing this damage by micro-CT (micro-computed tomography) scanning teeth to view the cementum bands instead. Cementum is a non-uniform mineralized connective tissue that grows on tooth roots and essentially anchors the tooth within its socket. What makes cementum interesting is that it kind of grows like tree rings do, with a new ring being added roughly each year.

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