Aboriginal past and present come together when the 10-year-old grandson of an aboriginal man named “Little John” hits 14,000-year-old paydirt. Such a thing could only happen because of a close relationship that has developed since 1992 between the aboriginal community and a devoted archaeologist-anthropologist. This relationship literally unearthed the oldest human artifact in Canadian history, and continues to bring benefits to both science and the aboriginal culture –- and to the individuals involved.

 

In “Little John Country” we learn about the man known as Little John, aka “White River Johnny,” his son David Johnny of the White River First Nation, David's son Eldred, who discovered the artifact, and anthropologist-archaeologist Norman Alexander Easton of Yukon College, along with other family and community members and student fieldworkers.

 

We are also introduced to the archaeological site given Little John's name in his honour. The site is used today just like it has been for many thousands of years as a place to fish, hunt and collect other bounty of the land. Only now there is a scientific harvest too.