Indigenizing Heritage: A Perspective from Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Politics of Heritage Values: How Archaeologists Deal with Place, Social Memories, Identities, and Socioeconomics" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Cultural heritage is commonly associated with the preservation of the physical traces of past human existence which are held to be our collective inheritance and to inspire our common future. It is often contrasted with natural heritage defined as natural places distinguished by their natural beauty or outstanding biodiversity, ecosystem, and geological values. From an Indigenous point of view this perspective, however valuable, fails to acknowledge the deep interconnectedness of people and other-than-human beings such as mountains and rivers, plants and animals, clouds and rain. We develop our argument by looking at how Cochiti Pueblo has responded to two external challenges—the building of Cochiti Dam and the Las Conchas fire. These cases are particularly informative because they bring cultural values into sharp focus and suggest some steps towards the reintegration of heritage as a response to the challenges of the Anthropocene.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• Politics of Heritage Values: How Archaeologists Deal with Place, Social Memories, Identities, and Socioeconomics

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38039.0