Ernie G. Walker

Distinguished Researcher Award - Spring 1993

Professor Walker, a native of Saskatoon, received his BEd, BA, BA (Honours) and MA from the University of Saskatchewan, and PhD from the University of Texas. Dr. Walker was tenured in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology in 1984 and has moved up through the ranks to Department Head and Full Professor.

Dr. Walker is a model of how faculty members integrate research into each aspect of their academic lives. His recent book on The Gowen Site: Cultural Responses to Climatic Warming on the Northern Plains, articles on Wanuskewin, and his investigations of prehistoric burial sites published in refereed journals and collected essays established Dr. Walker's reputation as a pre-eminent scholar in the Early Middle Period. From investigations of archeological sites and by relating material cultural findings to climatic data, he provides new interpretations to and a new relevance for prehistoric research.

Dr. Walker excels in communicating his research to students and to the public, as Wanuskewin Heritage Park demonstrates. In excavations of archaeological sites on Tipperary Creek, Dr. Walker conveys to students enthusiasm for systematic sifting through of artifacts. Moreover, Dr. Walker's integration of research conducted in the state-of-the-art archaeological laboratories at Wanuskewin Heritage Park, teaching and public display, brings archaeological research to the people: through audio-visual displays, observing researchers at work in the laboratories and walking through an interpretation of aboriginal pre-history, within an appropriate ecological setting.