Latonia Hartery | The Explorers Club 50

Latonia at Karrat Fjord NW Greenland Scanning the Horizon Author: Daniel Catt

Archaeologist

Northern Odyssey

meet latonia

An archaeologist and filmmaker, Latonia Hartery PhD is the director of the Bird Cove Archaeology Project in northern Newfoundland. Latonia has worked with colleagues to reconstruct over 5,000 years of human history in the region. She is also the founder of AARA Inc., a charity dedicated to researching, preserving, and promoting archaeology and cultural heritage across Newfoundland, Labrador, and the Arctic, while engaging the public through educational initiatives. Latonia’s production company, LJH Films, creates films that bring the stories and lived experiences of the North to wider audiences.

Nominated by: Scott C. Forsyth FI'16

Class of 2021 Location Newfoundland, Canada

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Latonia driving a zodiac in the Arctic

The Bird Cove Archaeology Project (BCAP) is an academic and community partnership that includes elders as active researchers, preserves rural traditions in northern Newfoundland, and contributes to regional economic stability through cultural tourism. It brings together scholarship, exploration, and artistic practice to foster meaningful social change. In response to the collapse of Newfoundland’s cod fishery, we have, over the past 30 years, hired and trained more than 300 rural workers as guides, researchers, artisans, and field workers, helping to offset economic challenges while building local capacity.

Latonia and local BCAP field researcher Judy Diamond

Latonia with Elder and Researcher Edmund Gould

“I hope for more Indigenous people, and everyone, to engage in exploration, to have greater agency in the story of their lives, and to participate in creating a future they are proud of.”

- Latonia Hartery

BCAP Photographer Dennis Minty, Elder and Researcher Elva Spence, and Latonia Hartery

My own research interests developed from a lifelong engagement with the landscapes of Newfoundland. Growing up in the rural fjords of the island’s south, I learned early that places often considered remote contain histories of profound significance. That perspective continues to shape my commitment to research in northern regions and ultimately led me to complete a Ph.D. focused on the Archaeology of Newfoundland, Labrador, and the Arctic.

Within this context, I have maintained a particular interest in plant use in the archaeological record. I was the first to apply phytolith analysis to Arctic sites, using a microscopic approach to Arctic paleoethnobotany. This work has expanded understandings of how plant use changed over time, particularly as high-Arctic populations migrated south to places like Newfoundland.

Anita Best's Storytelling and Singing Session

More broadly, I pursue a balance of traditional and non-traditional forms of scholarship, grounded in local knowledge systems. This approach has led me to advocate for grassroots, local, and Indigenous sovereignty in collaborative projects, including the Labrador Doc Project with the National Film Board of Canada, which produced four films directed by Inuit artists. Across these initiatives, I hope for more Indigenous people, and everyone, to engage in exploration, to have greater agency in the story of their lives, and to participate in creating a future they are proud of.