81st Plains Conference
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Welcome Message
Oki! We are excited to invite you to the 81st Annual Plains Anthropological Society Conference, which will be held in Lethbridge, Alberta in Canada. You will be staying in the ancestral homelands of the Blackfoot / Siksikaitsitapi. Lethbridge is located about an hour north of the Montana border, on the prairies east of the Rocky Mountains. The city straddles a beautiful river valley with the world’s longest and highest trestle bridge connecting the two sides of the city.
Lethbridge is a cultural hub in southern Alberta, with a thriving arts and heritage community. Home to 100,000 people, there are two post-secondary institutions and numerous museums and galleries, including the Sir Alexander Galt Museum and the Fort Whoop-Up Interpretive Centre. The city is also home to the world-famous Nikku Yukko Japanese Gardens, a monument to Japanese-Canadian friendship, honoring Japanese contributions to the region.
We wanted to provide some basic information to help you begin planning your trip. We will open registration and abstract submission later this summer. You may contact the organizers, Shawn Bubel, Kevin McGeough, and Bob Dawe at conference@plainsanthropologicalsociety.org with questions. However, please note that the organizers are currently in the field and will do their best to respond as soon as they are able, but it may not be until the end of June.
Getting to Lethbridge
By Land
Traveling to Lethbridge via land from the United States is relatively straightforward but will involve a border crossing. While there are many border crossing points, their hours of operation are highly variable and so we recommend checking in advance of your expected arrival. Crossing at Sweetgrass-Coutts on the Montana-Alberta border is usually straightforward, regardless of weather conditions. Once you cross the border, you will get to Lethbridge via Highway 4. For more on specifics of travel to Lethbridge, or other routes, visit: https://tourismlethbridge.com/transportation
By Air
While Lethbridge is home to a small airport, we recommend that those flying to the conference arrive at Calgary International Airport (YYC), where they will clear customs and immigrations, and proceed to Lethbridge by rental car, bus, or through one of our organized tours. Alternatively, Great Falls International Airport (GTF) is about a three-hour drive from Lethbridge. You will just need to ensure that you are permitted to take your rental car across the international border.
For those not wanting to rent a car, there are two bus services that can deliver you to Lethbridge.
There is a Red Arrow bus that departs the Calgary airport to Lethbridge at 5:00 pm Mondays-Thursdays. Return trips on Saturday or Sunday depart at 8:15 am and 8:30 am respectively, arriving at 11:55 am or12:10 pm. International travellers should allow themselves at least two hours to clear customs and security in Calgary. To book transit and check for more up-to-date schedules, visit: https://www.redarrow.ca
Another option is Flixbus, which has just started operation in southern Alberta. There are many more Calgary-Lethbridge departures than Red Arrow, and the price is less. But Flixbus, at the time that we are writing this, does not offer a direct airport departure. These buses leave from the downtown Calgary bus terminal. During rush hour, you may need to allow yourself up to an hour to get downtown, and taxi fare will be around $100 Canadian. Their website is: https://www.flixbus.ca
Accommodations
The conference will be held at the Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge, located at 320 Scenic Drive South. We have reserved space for conference attendees, but please book early before the space sells out. The hotel overlooks the river valley and bridge, right beside the Sir Alexander Galt Museum and is a short walk from Fort Whoop Up. It is also in the heart of downtown, located within walking distance of numerous restaurants and bars. The conference rate is $139 (CAD, you can select the currency in the booking page to see the USD price). The room block will be held until September 16, or until full.
Book a room directly with this link:
https://reservations.sandmanhotels.com/113172?groupID=4072967
Alternatively, you can call their 24-hour Central Reservations office at 1-800-726-3626 / 1-800-SANDMAN.
In order to receive the correct rates, callers must reference:
- Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge
- Group Name: 2024 Archeological Conference
- Block ID: 325489
- Block code: ARCCON2024
Please note that there are TWO hotels named Sandman in Lethbridge. If you do not register through our link, make sure you are booking the Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge, located at 320 Scenic Drive South.
Field Trips
One of the highlights of this Annual Meeting will be the field trips! We will be visiting some of the most amazing sites on the Plains. Given how much there is to see in southern Alberta, we have tried to create itineraries that will provide the best overview of Alberta’s heritage, ranging from the Ice Age to the present. The longer you can stay, the more you will be able to see. For details about each field trip, and to ensure you make the correct travel plans, see Field Trips webpage.
Notes for spouse/significant others: We are aware that tours will be popular and you may be planning the trip with your significant other. You will be able to add a plus one to your tour(s) and banquet at registration without having that person also need to register for the whole meeting. However, if your plus one does come to other meeting events they will need to register for the entire meeting.
- Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump / Estipah-skikikini-kots UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Writing-on-Stone / Aísínai’pi UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Okotoks Erratic / Omahk Kotok
- Sundial Medicine Wheel / Onoka-Katzi
- Wally’s Beach
- Fur Traders, Whiskey Runners, and the Northwest Mounted Police
- Industrial archaeology
Itinerary Options
We will do our best to hold the field trips despite the highly variable weather conditions of southern Alberta in the fall. Check the forecasts before you travel, but it is possible that we will be walking in extreme cold or heat or in exceptionally dry, rainy, or snowy conditions. Tour itineraries are subject to change without notice. Full details on the Field Trips and Itinerary webpage. You will be able to register for each individual Field Trip.
Field Trip 1: Tuesday (October 15): Pre-Conference, full day field trip departing from Calgary 7 AM (or Lethbridge 9 AM) ending in Lethbridge: Head-Smashed-In, Wally's Beach, Crowsnest Pass.
Field Trip 2: Wednesday (October 16): Departing from Lethbridge: Writing-on-Stone / Aísínai’pi UNESCO World Heritage Site full day field trip
Field Trip 3: Saturday (October 19): Historical Archaeological Tour with Heinz Pysczch
Field Trip 4: Saturday (October 19): Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
Field Trip 5: Saturday (October 19): Self-guided City Tour:
Field Trip 6: Sunday (October 20): Post-conference tour to Sundial Medicine Wheel, ending in Calgary ~2 PM.
Thursday Night Canadiana Optional Tours and Wintersports
Registration
Conference registration will open later this summer. Registrants will be able to signup for each field trip, purchase conference registrations, banquet tickets, and merchandise, and gain access to the abstract submission portal. More details will be announced later this summer.
Call for papers
PAS invites proposals for papers, posters, and sessions to be given at the 81st Annual Plains Conference. Proposals should be submitted through the PAS On-line Abstract Portal. Proposals should include a title, abstract of 100-200 words, and list of presenters/chairs. Please note that abstracts cannot be submitted until the presenter has logged in to their PAS user account and registered for the meeting. A call for papers will be announced later this summer.
Aboot Canada
Given the geographic interests of the Plains Anthropological Society, many of you will be well versed in Canadian culture. Still, we thought a brief socio-cultural primer might be of assistance or interest.
When you think of Canadian English, you probably expect to hear us say “eh” a lot, and perhaps we say it more when speaking to Americans. There are, however, distinct rules for how “eh” is used, and if you want to try speaking like a local, you’ll need to use it properly. The rule of thumb is to treat it like punctuation. It is used to prompt a response when speaking. But, we don’t actually want a long response, we just want someone to say “yes”, “uhuh”, or agree with what we are saying. We are trying to be inclusive in a conversation and help someone participate in the dialogue. A good phrase to practice with is, “Oh, it's too bad about the Toronto Maple Leafs, eh?” We also say “sorry” a lot, but that’s easier to pick up. And remember to pronounce about as “aboot”.
Speaking of hockey, Alberta has two teams, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. The two sets of fans hate each other with a passion rivalling Yankees-Red Sox rivalries. There are also significant numbers of Toronto Maple Leafs fans here, but everyone just feels sorry for them. If you are an American, who knows about hockey, we will probably be happy no matter who you cheer for. But, if you want a safe team to pretend to cheer for, choose the Montreal Canadians. In Alberta, this won’t upset anyone, but will make you seem like a hockey insider.
A few things you should be aware of as you cross the border. Don’t bring your guns. Even in Alberta this will be a problem, but especially crossing the border, where you will be stopped. Cannabis is legal here, but it cannot cross borders. So, you shouldn’t bring any with you and if you buy any up here, you’ll have to use it all here. Alcohol here is very expensive with taxes, although our craft beer scene is the best in the world. You may want to plan to bring your bourbon but buy your beer here (unless you want to buy a flat of rock-bottom cheap Olympia as you drive through Montana). The drinking age in Alberta is 18, so that may entice some of your college students to come to the conference (but you might not want to tell them this…).
Canadian coffee culture is distinct and noteworthy. We are a country divided between two franchises, Starbucks and our Canadian Tim Horton’s (named after a hockey player who famously had the franchise stolen away from him). Both sides of this divide claim that the other franchise over-roasts its coffee. In any case, our Canadian franchise, Tim Horton’s is famous for appealing to those who like lots of cream and sugar in their coffee. The “local” way to order is to ask for a “double-double”, which has double the cream and double the sugar. Ordering a double-double and a “Maple Donut” will give you a quintessentially Canadian experience. There is a Tim Horton’s within walking distance of the hotel (and really, there is one within walking distance of anywhere in any Canadian city).
Other food issues to be aware of. We don’t have “Canadian Bacon” in the west and don’t know what it is. When Canadians use the word “barbecue”, they mean “grilling”. If they are using it as a noun, they mean “a grill”. And if someone claims to make southern-style barbecue (or any southern-style cuisine), be suspicious. However, our steaks are really good here. Just order a rib eye and not the brisket. What you should try here is poutine, the closest thing to a national dish. This is a Quebecois delicacy that has become a national staple. It’s simple, French fries with gravy and cheese curds, delicious and a heart attack in a cup. Now it has become trendy to add various other elements to it, but this is the foundational dish. It is the cheese curds that were the Quebecois innovation, since Canadians put gravy on everything. You’ll be asked all the time at restaurants if you want a side of gravy, and it will always be brown gravy (sometimes its vegan), but never white gravy.
Generally, things are more expensive here, although with the exchange rate, that shouldn’t impact American visitors here (and they won’t notice the expense in restaurants). One much cheaper item, however, is maple syrup. If you have a Costco card and drive here, you can go stock up. Our candy bars (called “chocolate bars” here) are different, and often once Americans are introduced to them, they can’t ever go back. Similarly, our potato chips here have quite a few more flavours (not flavors), and Americans often really like Ketchup and Dill Pickle.
While we use the metric system for many things in Canada, it isn’t used as consistently as one might imagine. People here still think in terms of feet and inches for height, pounds in terms of their own weight. But we will order food in grams, discuss temperature in Celsius, and our speeding limits are posted in kilometers per hour. In stores, you may be confusingly asked “do you have Miles?”. Often our loyalty programs use the word miles in their names, and this is what is being asked.
Given that it will be October during the conference, you may need to bring a hat for warmth. In Canada, we call woolen hats or caps, especially the ones with pom-poms on the tops, “toques” (pronounced tuke, like Luke). If you call this a hat, the Canadians will be confused. We are used to the cold here, so don’t be surprised if you see people wearing shorts and flip flops in the snow, but maybe don’t follow their lead. You will also see lots of flannel, but the Canadian tuxedo (jean jacket and matching jeans) is no longer common.