INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND ARCHAEOLOGY: From Conflict to Coalition

Course Description: In this course, we will examine the changing relationship between Indigenous peoples and archaeology through general readings and case studies from the places now known as North America, South America, and Australia.

Like anthropology, archaeology was born of colonialism. However, it is now increasingly postcolonial in attitude and practice, in response to Indigenous peoples worldwide who have felt deeply hurt and angered by past archaeological tendencies to treat their objects as artifacts, their dead as specimens, their oral history as irrelevant, and their ancestral lands as laboratories. Many archaeologists are now working for change; artifacts and ancestors are being repatriated to descendant communities, heritage laws are improving, and archaeological research has begun to focus on subjects of interest to Indigenous communities themselves.

Furthermore, native-run archaeological programs have emerged, helping Indigenous communities to challenge conventional history books, learn more about past lifeways including resistance to colonialization, and back up their land claims with archaeological evidence. However, challenges remain. Although the UN now considers heritage a human right, and although archaeologists and Indigenous peoples are working together, the global economic forces of tourism and the illegal antiquities trade threaten the rights of descendant communities to control their own cultural property.

Format: Three seminar hours.

Evaluation: To be announced in the first week of classes.

Projected Enrolment: 50