Discourses of the Haunted: Community-Based Archaeology at the Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School

Summary

Haunting is a way to conceptualize and recognize traumatic events of the past. In some cases, past trauma becomes so well hidden that it produces specters whose origin and source may not be readily identified or acknowledged, yet still have the power to do harm. This metaphor of haunting is especially apt when considering the United States Federal Indian Boarding School era. The cultural genocide attempted by Federal Indian boarding schools is still felt in American Indian communities as generational trauma. Perhaps one of the greatest strengths of community-based archaeology is its potential for drawing out ghosts, acknowledging their presence, and giving them a voice. This research is part of a grass-roots effort to decolonize the historic narrative of the Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan. Drawing on archaeological data, documentary evidence, and oral histories, I will share a series of stories that expose specters of the past and reveal narratives of empowerment, particularly for the women in the community.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Engendered Archaeologies: Intersubjectivity in Archaeological Heritage Practice and Interpretation

Keywords

Spatial Coverage