Community Archaeology and Energy Infrastructure: Industrial archaeology and trust-building between residents, industry, and government

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Cultural Heritage Laws and Policies, Political Economy, and the Community Importance of Archaeological Sites", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Keweenaw Energy Transition Lab at Michigan Technological University is supporting efforts to adapt heritage mines into grid-scale, closed-loop pumped hydropower facilities. Archaeological research supports planning and decisions at all levels, from site selection, design, and CAPEX calculations; permitting approval; and growing social license to operate during a time of distrust and radical change. Through a series of case studies in the copper, iron, zinc/lead, and limestone mining districts of the Upper Midwest and the Swedish arctic, we are exploring different visions of a just transition to sustainable energy in post-mining and indigenous communities. KETL researchers have co-developed transdisciplinary tools, rooted in industrial and contemporary archaeology, ethnography, and STEAM-centered SCICOMM. We are looking toward a future of deeply public-participatory planning in energy futures, de-centering archaeology from itself and transforming into a fundamental tool for community-led inquiry and building consensus about justice and equity in energy and development.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• Cultural Heritage Laws and Policies, Political Economy, and the Community Importance of Archaeological Sites

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow