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Indigenous archaeologies is a sub-discipline of archaeological practice that centers archaeology "by, for, and with"[1] Indigenous people to critique the colonialist biases in modern archaeology. It actively recognizes the special rights, interests and responsibilities that Native people have in the realm of cultural heritage.[2] Changes in practices under what is called indigenous archaeology may range from Indigenous peoples being consulted about archaeological research and the terms of non-Native researchers, to instances of Native-designed and directed exploration of their "own" heritage.[3] Indigenous archaeology is not exclusive to Indigenous peoples. The practice of Indigenous archaeology provides non-Native people with a tool by which they may aid in the larger project of decolonization and reclamation of minority rights and identities.[4]

College students work with indigenous peoples in archaeological dig

There is no singular paradigm which all practitioners follow, leading to the pluralization of the name.[5][4] Methodologies can include, but are not limited to; the use of intangible heritage in interpreting the material archaeological record, protective data sovereignty and Indigenous intellectual property rights, and community-led collaborative project frameworks.[6][7]

Background

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Archaeology has its origins in European colonial policies and replicated extractive practices through the collection of material culture, including human remains.[8] While some items were legitimately purchased, many were excavated from graves without the consultation or permission of the Indigenous community to whom they belonged.[8] From the 18th to 20th century, these remains were then transferred into museum or university collections where they were studied by European and American scientists as evidence in the creation of racial classification systems.[9][10]

Until the latter 20th century, Indigenous communities lacked the legal standing to challenge these institutions. The rise of global anti-colonial movements of the 1970s and 1980s led by Aboriginal and Indigenous people in settler-colonial nations led to the passage of legislature that would prevent further harm and establish legal rights concerning material culture. In the United States, Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990 and amended in 2025, which requires federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding to return Native American "cultural items" to lineal descendants and culturally affiliated American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, and Native Hawaiian organizations.[11] Alberta is the only Canadian province with specific laws relating to repatriation with First Nations Sacred Ceremonial Objects Repatriation Act being updated in 2016.[12][13] Provincial governments have recognised that local First Nations had an interest in the archaeological permit application process.[14][15] Australia has no laws directly governing repatriation, but there is a government programme relating to the return of Aboriginal remains and artefacts, the International Repatriation Program (IRP), administered by the Department of Communications and the Arts.[16][17] The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP), which is a legal non-binding resolution that suggests countries return ceremonial objects (article 12) and human remains (article 12), was not accepted by the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Core Critiques of Western Archaeology

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The rising number of Indigenous voices in higher education has led to critiques of the role mainstream archaeology has played in objectifying, appropriating, and erasing Native people from national histories.[18][19][20][21][22] Other critiques point to the dismissal of Indigenous knowledge in interpreting the cultural record, leading to the imperialist-aligned nationalist interpretation of history being codified in the academics and archaeological practice.[23][24][25] The basis of archaeology in western science leads to the valuation of empirical data over immaterial sources.[26] Indigenous archaeology sees this approach as biasing the historical narrative because excludes cultures with non-material methods of preserving history and intangible heritage. In recent years, scholars have begun to critique how archaeological findings are accessed by non-Indigenous publics and the who should be allowed access to culturally sensitive material.[27][28][29][30][31][32] However, Indigenous communities dispute on whether or not their cultural practices should be subject to academic and legalistic judgement by external scholars. The demands on indigenous peoples concerning archaeological collaboration involve more burdens on the indigenous community to answer to archaeological probing, while traditional archaeological approaches do not change and fail to accommodate to indigenous needs.[33]

Applications

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CRM

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The necessity of development-related cultural resources management (CRM) archaeology has prompted archaeologists to work more closely with Indigenous communities. However, while consultation is often legally required to proceed with projects, this does not necessarily mean that the community’s requests are followed or that they are given access to any findings. This has led to an insistence on “Collaboration Over Consultation.”[34] Indigenous communities have voiced great interest in participating in archaeology that concerns their own history and in developing their own CRM organizations to protect their heritage.[35][36][37][38][39]One example of an Indigenous owned and operated CRM firm is BRIC, which is a subsidiary of the Diné Development Corporation, and wholly owned by the Navajo Nation.[40]

Self-Determination and Land Rights

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Beyond field-based applications, Indigenous archaeologies empower Indigenous peoples as they work toward decolonization by providing direct connection to ancestral presences and control of their own heritage.[41][42] In some cases archaeological sites provide affirming evidence of uninterrupted occupation of colonized lands.[43] In Australia, such archaeological projects serve as evidence to negotiate land claims.[44][24]

Navajo workers excavate an archaeological dig.

Repatriation

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Indigenous archaeologies are beneficial in addressing the repatriation of Indigenous remains and objects of cultural patrimony to descendant relations and the stewardship of heritage sites. The demand for repatriation has generated considerable controversy among scholars, some of whom support the concept in principle, but believe that incorporation of certain practices has led to "major constraints on the research" of historical communities.[45] Though this has been refuted by the leading voices of Indigenous archaeologies.[7] Because the practices of Indigenous archaeologies are determined by the concerned community, proponents of the field are able to respectfully attend to how remains should be handled as descendants process the associated historical traumas.[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Atalay S (2012). Community-Based Archaeology: Research with, by, and for Indigenous and Local Communities. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-27335-1.
  2. ^ Smith LT (2008). "On Tricky Ground: Researching the Native in the Age of Uncertainty". In Denzin NK, Lincoln YS (eds.). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. SAGE Publications Ltd. pp. 85–107. ISBN 978-0-7619-2757-0.
  3. ^ e.g. Million 2005
  4. ^ a b Atalay S (2006). "Indigenous Archaeology as Decolonizing Practice". American Indian Quarterly. 30 (3/4). University of Nebraska Press: 280–310. doi:10.1353/aiq.2006.0015. ISSN 0095-182X.
  5. ^ Lyons, Natasha (2007), Quliaq tohongniaq tuunga (making histories): towards a critical inuvialuit archaeology in the Canadian western arctic, University Of Calgary, Peter Dawson, University of Calgary, doi:10.11575/PRISM/1326, retrieved 2025-04-14
  6. ^ Yellowhorn, Eldon (2006). "Understanding antiquity: Bruce Trigger on his life's work in archaeology - an interview". Journal of Social Archaeology. 6 (3): 307–327. doi:10.1177/1469605306067839. ISSN 1469-6053.
  7. ^ a b Colwell-Chanthaphonh C, Ferguson TJ, Lippert D, McGuire RH, Nicholas GP, Watkins JE, Zimmerman LJ (2010). "The Premise and Promise of Indigenous Archaeology". American Antiquity. 75 (2): 228–238. doi:10.7183/0002-7316.75.2.228. ISSN 0002-7316.
  8. ^ a b Gidtri, A. (1974). "Imperialism and Archaeology". Race. 15 (4): 431–459. doi:10.1177/030639687401500403. ISSN 0033-7277.
  9. ^ Ames MM (1992). Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes: The Anthropology of Museums. UBC Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-0391-5.
  10. ^ Edwards E, Gosden C, Phillips RB, eds. (2006). Sensible Objects: Colonialism, Museums, and Material Culture. Wenner-Gren International Symposium Series. Berg. ISBN 978-1-84520-324-5.
  11. ^ "Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
  12. ^ Dekker, Jennifer L (2018-03-01). "Challenging the "Love of Possessions": Repatriation of Sacred Objects in the United States and Canada". Collections. 14 (1): 37–61. doi:10.1177/155019061801400103. ISSN 1550-1906.
  13. ^ Tünsmeyer, Vanessa (2022). Repatriation of Sacred Indigenous Cultural Heritage and the Law: Lessons from the United States and Canada. Studies in Art, Heritage, Law and the Market. Vol. 3. Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-89047-6. ISBN 978-3-030-89046-9.
  14. ^ Bell L, K'awaas S, Hill G (2021). "Working with and for Ancestors: Collaboration in the Care and Study of Ancestral Remains". In Meloche CH, Spake L, Nichols KL (eds.). Caring for the Ancestors at the Royal BC Museum. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 127–135. ISBN 978-0-367-80931-7.
  15. ^ Wadsworth WT, Supernant K, Dersch A (August 2021). "Integrating Remote Sensing and Indigenous Archaeology to Locate Unmarked Graves: A Case Study from Northern Alberta, Canada". Advances in Archaeological Practice. 9 (3): 202–214. doi:10.1017/aap.2021.9. ISSN 2326-3768.
  16. ^ "Australian Government Policy on Indigenous Repatriation".
  17. ^ Ritchie D (2013). "Principles and practice of site protection laws in Australia". In Carmichael DL, Hubert J, Reeves B, Schanche A (eds.). Sacred sites, sacred places. Routledge. pp. 227–244.
  18. ^ Deloria, Vine (1988). Custer died for your sins: an Indian manifesto. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-2129-1.
  19. ^ Deloria PJ (2004). Indians in Unexpected Places. CultureAmerica. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1344-1.
  20. ^ Watkins J (1 October 2005). "Through Wary Eyes: Indigenous Perspectives on Archaeology". Annual Review of Anthropology. 34 (1): 429–449. doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.34.081804.120540. ISSN 0084-6570.
  21. ^ Lippert DT (2006). "Building a Bridge to Cross a Thousand Years". The American Indian Quarterly. 30 (3): 431–440. doi:10.1353/aiq.2006.0027. ISSN 1534-1828.
  22. ^ Steeves P (April 2017). "Unpacking Neoliberal Archaeological Control of Ancient Indigenous Heritage". Archaeologies. 13 (1): 48–65. doi:10.1007/s11759-017-9312-z. ISSN 1555-8622.
  23. ^ Mohs G (2013). "Sto:lo Sacred Ground". In Carmichael DL, Hubert J, Reeves B, Schanche A (eds.). Sacred Sites, Sacred Places. Routledge. p. 202.
  24. ^ a b Roberts A, Hemming S, Trevorrow T, Trevorrow G, Rigney M, Rigney G, Agius L, Agius R (2016). "Nukun and Kungun Ngarrindjeri Ruwe (look and listen to Ngarrindjeri country): An investigation of Ngarrindjeri perspectives of archaeology in relation to native title and heritage matters". In Bruchac M, Hart S, Wobst HM (eds.). Indigenous Archaeologies. Routledge. pp. 126–131.
  25. ^ Cooper, David (2006-01-19), Scarre, Chris; Scarre, Geoffrey (eds.), "Truthfulness and 'inclusion' in archaeology", The Ethics of Archaeology (1 ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 131–145, doi:10.1017/cbo9780511817656.008, ISBN 978-0-521-84011-8, retrieved 2025-04-14
  26. ^ Braun MJ (2012), Bridging the Gap: A Critical Analysis of Implementing an Indigenous Archaeology Approach in the Management of Cultural Resources, Northern Illinois University
  27. ^ Hendry J (2005). Reclaiming Culture: Indigenous People and Self-representation. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-7018-3.
  28. ^ a b Meloche CH, Spake L, Nichols KL, eds. (2021). Working with and for Ancestors: Collaboration in the Care and Study of Ancestral Remains. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 978-0-367-80931-7.
  29. ^ Akagawa N, Smith L, eds. (2019). Safeguarding Intangible Heritage: Practices and Politics. Key Issues in Cultural Heritage. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-50713-7.
  30. ^ Allen L, Hamby L (2011). "Pathways to Knowledge: Research, Agency and Power Relations in the Context of Collaborations Between Museums and Source Communities". In Byrne S, Clarke A, Harrison R, Torrence R (eds.). Unpacking the Collection. One World Archaeology. Springer New York. pp. 209–229. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-8222-3_9. ISBN 978-1-4419-8221-6.
  31. ^ Ireland T (2015). "The Ethics of Visibility: Archaeology, Conservation and Memories of Settler Colonialism". In Ireland T, Schofield J (eds.). The Ethics of Cultural Heritage. Springer New York. pp. 105–125. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-1649-8_7. ISBN 978-1-4939-1649-8.
  32. ^ Magnani M, Guttorm A, Magnani N (May 2018). "Three-dimensional, community-based heritage management of indigenous museum collections: Archaeological ethnography, revitalization and repatriation at the Sámi Museum Siida". Journal of Cultural Heritage. 31: 162–169. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2017.12.001. ISSN 1296-2074.
  33. ^ Matthews CN (2009). "Is Archaeology Political? Transformative Praxis Within and Against the Boundaries of Archaeology". The Public Historian. 31 (2). University of California Press: 79–90. doi:10.1525/tph.2009.31.2.79. ISSN 0272-3433.
  34. ^ Silliman SW, Ferguson TJ (2010). "Consultation and collaboration with descendant communities". Voices in American Archaeology. The SAA Press: 48–72.
  35. ^ Thompson KF, Marek-Martinez OV (2021). "Trowels in the Trenches: Archaeology as Social Activism". In Barton CP (ed.). Engaging archaeology as social justice for Navajo communities. University Press of Florida. pp. 211–222.
  36. ^ Campbell, Wade; Thompson, Kerry F.; Begay, Richard M. (2021-07-03). "Naasgo : Moving Forward – Diné Archaeology in the Twenty-First Century". KIVA. 87 (3): 253–267. doi:10.1080/00231940.2021.1951553. ISSN 0023-1940.
  37. ^ Gonzalez SL, Kretzler I, Edwards B (April 2018). "Imagining Indigenous and Archaeological Futures: Building Capacity with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde". Archaeologies. 14 (1): 85–114. doi:10.1007/s11759-018-9335-0. ISSN 1555-8622.
  38. ^ Gonzalez SL, Marek-Martinez OV (2015). "NAGPRA and the next generation of collaboration". SAA Archaeological Record. 15 (1): 11–13.
  39. ^ Nicholas G, Watkins J (2024). Nicholas GP, Watkins J (eds.). Working as Indigenous Archaeologists: Reckoning New Paths Between Past and Present Lives. Archaeology and Indigenous peoples. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003183853. ISBN 978-1-003-18385-3.
  40. ^ BRIC. 2025. “Capability Statement.” https://ddc-dine.com/bric/. Accessed 2025-05-06.
  41. ^ Nicholas G, Watkins J, Smith C (2014). "Indigenous archaeologies in archaeological theory". Am. Antiq. 12: 355–370.
  42. ^ Watkins J (2005). "Artefacts, Archaeologists and American Indians". Public Archaeology. 4 (2–3). Taylor & Francis: 187–191. doi:10.1179/146551805793156211. ISSN 1465-5187.
  43. ^ Walker P, Ostrove C (1995). "The Aboriginal Right to Cultural Property". UBC Law Review. 13. HeinOnline: 14.
  44. ^ Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 No 42 - NSW Legislation, retrieved 13 April 2025
  45. ^ McGhee R (2008). "Aboriginalism and the problems of indigenous archaeology". American Antiquity. 73 (4). Cambridge University Press: 579–597. doi:10.1017/S0002731600047314. ISSN 0002-7316.
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