Weaving Paths to Healing and Human Rights: Creating Tsunamis of Systemic Change in Archaeology

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Activating Heritage: Encouraging Substantive Practices for a Just Future" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Substantive practices for a just future in archaeology require an acknowledgment of the history of discrimination and marginalization within American archaeology. Equity is not achieved through policies supporting marginalized communities within the discipline. Substantive practices and equity are addressed through action. Discrimination within archaeology against marginalized groups includes both settler and Indigenous populations. Transformation of an academic field begins with discussion, including testimony from impacted communities to the harms inflicted by systematic discrimination within the field. If we are to create a just and equitable future in archaeology, we must first listen to marginalized people and communities and together weave paths to healing and transformation within archaeology and the communities whose histories and lands are central to the work archaeologists do. From an Indigenous perspective and lived experience, I discuss the harms inflicted on Indigenous communities and on settler archaeologists whose work leapt beyond the enforced time frames of the initial peopling of the Western Hemisphere (the Americas). It is an honor to acknowledge archaeologists who suffered the wrath of the archaeological status quo and to acknowledge the groundbreaking work they have done over the last century, supporting deep Indigenous links to the lands of Turtle Island.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Activating Heritage: Encouraging Substantive Practices for a Just Future   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 41687.0