SWIFT CURRENT — The Swift Current Museum hosted its May lunch-and-talk event featuring guest speaker Bailey Pelletier, community engagement assistant with the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society.
The event reached full capacity and offered attendees a wealth of information during the one-hour session. Pelletier focused on archaeological artifacts such as arrowheads, dart points and pottery.
Pelletier described the presentation as “a brief overview of Saskatchewan’s archaeological history over the past 10,000 years.”
“There is archaeology all throughout southern Saskatchewan,” she said. “Places like Saskatchewan Landing are so significant because of the large valley, major waterways and high points where people often set up camp. It was also an important travel corridor over the past 3,000 years.
“For us, it’s a place where we can connect with people about archaeology and continue to learn about new discoveries, whether in southern or northern Saskatchewan, and educate anyone interested.”
Pelletier said the session covered basic concepts and highlighted artifacts found across both northern and southern regions of the province.
“There were lots of great questions and a strong turnout,” she said. “We weren’t sure what to expect coming down here, but it was amazing. Even I learned some things from the people who attended.”
Pelletier said events like the talk are important because archaeological history in Saskatchewan is largely hidden from view.
“Archaeology here is underground — you don’t see it,” she said. “People often think of places like the pyramids, where history is visible. In Saskatchewan, it’s different. We often refer to it as ‘stones and bones,’ but we have a rich and long history of Indigenous peoples and cultures that many don’t realize because it isn’t visible on the surface.
“Attending talks like these can really open people’s eyes to what’s around them and help them understand how rich our archaeological history is.”
She added the society continues its outreach efforts through summer programming.
“Our summer students started a few weeks ago, and they’ll be travelling throughout Saskatchewan with what we call the ‘archaeo-caravan,’” Pelletier said. “They teach people of all ages about archaeology through hands-on activities like rock painting and pottery-making, while explaining how these items were used in the past.”
She also mentioned that the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society can be reached through social media, by email at General@TheSAS.ca or by phone at 1-306-664-4124.
In wrapping up the season with a full-capacity event, the audience included several regular attendees.
One of the attendees, Mike Buist, said he regularly participates in the lunch-and-learn events.
“My mom and I attend when it fits our schedule, and we really enjoy them,” he said. “There’s always lots of interesting information, and it’s locally catered, which is nice.”
Buist said his interest lies in history, especially local history.
“I’m definitely a student of history,” he said. “I’ve got lots of books, and I especially enjoy learning about local history. The museum is always a happy place for me.”
The museum’s lunch-and-talk series will take a break for the summer and return in September 2026.
