Decolonizing Plantation Frontiers: Discord Between Epistemological Foundations and Emerging Ethical Considerations at Sites of Enslavement.

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In Decolonizing Archaeology: On the Global Heritage of Epistemic Laziness, Rizvi (2015) introduced a concept called the epistemic injustice double-bind regarding an archaeologist’s position as translators of cultural materials, stewards and advocates for historic sites and populations, both past and present. The double-bind we find ourselves in stems from our ties to an “epistemic heritage” that must be mastered to advance through the field. A heritage based on problematic ideologies and understandings which often create more barriers for BIPOC practitioners and Descendant group participation (Jones & Carey 2023; Franklin 1997; Hartemann 2021; Hartman 2008). This paradox is most readily apparent in archaeological investigations conducted on plantation landscapes. This paper will examine plantations through a frontier lens, the efficacy of commonly used methodologies, and ethical considerations resulting from archaeological processes. Further, decolonization efforts require flexibility and transparency when epistemic foundations do not ethically align with Descendant rights or community engagement standards.  

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow