On the Rez, It's All Our History

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Recognizing and Recording Post-1492 Indigenous Sites in North American Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Tribal members understand history, perhaps better than most communities. It's the concept of prehistory that brings blank stares. As a non-tribal member archaeologist working for a tribe, it's my job to ensure places in the tribes' past (both distant and recent) are adequately addressed under cultural resource laws. This effort often requires reminding agencies and project proponents that not only do tribes have a pre-contact history (Of course!), but they also have a contact-era history (Hmm, maybe) and a post-contact history (Certainly not!), as well as a present (Sure!). In this paper I'll discuss places known to have been used by tribal members in the historic era, places that without the proper context archaeologists would definitely interpret as "historic" and therefore of no concern to tribes. Examples include homesteads, railroad construction, agricultural sites, and CCC projects. The discussion will raise questions about the usefulness and consequences of assigning sites to these categories.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Recognizing and Recording Post-1492 Indigenous Sites in North American Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26259