Field Methods in Indigenous Archaeology: Building Capacity through Community-Based Research and Education

Summary

There are few formal field schools in the United States where students can receive formal training in tribal historic preservation, community-based collaboration, and archaeological field methods. Given the increasing role of consultation and collaboration in disciplinary practice, learning to effectively communicate and build relationships with a Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) and/or tribal community is a critical skill. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon’s THPO and the University of Washington have thus partnered to develop Field Methods in Indigenous Archaeology, a summer field school that offers both Grand Ronde community members and undergraduate students hands-on training in tribal historic preservation and archaeological field methods. This program is an example of the ways in which community-based, indigenized approaches to archaeological research and undergraduate education contributes to the capacity of the Grand Ronde THPO 1) to care for tribal heritage on reservation and trust lands and 2) to educate the next generation of heritage managers and archaeologists—tribal and non-tribal—about what it means to care for tribal cultural resources.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• NAGPRA and Beyond: successes and shared benefits of collaboration

Keywords

Spatial Coverage