Lisa Small
BIO
BSc, M.A(c)
Lisa is a graduate student of anthropology at York University and a recent alumnus from the University of Toronto where she earned a Bachelor of Science in biological anthropology. While at York Lisa’s research focuses on anthropological critiques of the archaeology and heritage of African Diasporic people in Canada and the Caribbean. She uses archaeological evidence to support the existence of Black life and examines what material remains and relic landscapes connected to early Black settlements can tell us about the formation of identities, communities, race politics and social organization on the colonies/plantations. For her final Major Research Paper (MRP) at York Lisa critiques the problematics and opportunities around how the production of heritage impacts how we see, know and experience the Black past in Ontario, which contributes to broader discourses around the identification, protection, endangerment, alienation and (mis)education of Black heritage/history in the province.
As a History Assistant for the project, Lisa hopes to combine her diverse background in the arts filming industry along with her special interest in anti-racist human rights advocacy, particularly around concerns of race and anti-Black racisms as tools towards social and heritage justice in Canada. Excavated artifacts, including medical and pharmaceutical objects of a 19th century immigrant neighbourhood (St. John’s Ward) sparked her interests to learn more about how the racial climate in the city impacted how different Black people and families accessed health care services, further probing Lisa’s pursuits to understanding reproductive health and maternal practices of Black women within the community. In the end, Lisa hopes to contribute to the CMOC team by using history and archaeology to advocate for issues around the erasure of history and cultural memory amongst people of colour. By revitalizing the stories and experiences of historically underrepresented peoples, Lisa is confident and determined that a creative historic approach to racialized maternal health can work to restore, empower and make visible the life, culture and very existence of African diasporic peoples in Canada.