Collaborative Archaeology: How Native American Knowledge Enhances Our Collective Understanding of the Past

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Collaborative Archaeology: How Native American Knowledge Enhances Our Collective Understanding of the Past" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Within the last several decades, Native communities in the United States have increasingly taken on the management of their own cultural resources, including the establishment of Tribal Historic Preservation Offices. Furthermore, federal agencies now require archaeologists to consult with Native Americans, and legislation has also altered how research institutions interact with tribal communities. These developments have increased connections among cultural resource managers and Native people, which in turn has led to greater incorporation of traditional knowledge into narratives regarding the past. At the same time, a dichotomy remains between prehistory and history, with some archaeologists still maintaining that certain prehistoric cultures such as the “Hohokam” no longer existed after prehistory. Not only are separate terms still applied to prehistoric and historic societies, largely different researchers investigate them, with archaeologists considering the former and historians the latter. Bridging the remaining gaps in our understanding requires continued integration of archaeological, historical, and traditional Native knowledge. This symposium presents recent contributions to this process, including research by a tribal cultural resource management department, as well as positive outcomes of the Native American consultation process.