Working as Indigenous Archaeologists Reckoning New Paths Between Past and Present Lives

Acknowledgements

A Word about“Words”

PART 1. Framing the Conversation

Introduction: Reckoning New Paths

George Nicholas and Joe Watkins

PART 2. Listening and Learning

1 Feminist Archaeologies from the Borders

Daniela Balanzátegui

2 Seeking My Center Place: Migrations through Science and Tradition

Lyle Balenquah

3 Starting Archaeological Studies as a Mature Student in My 40s

Robyne Bancroft

4 Indigenous Archaeology and My Responsibility to Archaeological Legacies

Kristen Barnett

5 Decolonizing the Maya Discourse of Identity as an Archaeologist

6 Archaeological Double Agency

Beau D. Carroll

7 Mayaland Deciphered: Archaeologies of the Self

Juan A. Castillo Cocom

8 Where We Ultimately Belong

M. Hinanui Cauchois

9 A Murdi Geoarchaeologist's Story

Malcolm J. Connolly

10 From My Tradition to My Profession: Moving between the “Gentiles,” Archaeologies, and the Painted Hills

Jimena Cruz Mamani

11 All Roads Lead Home

Marcela Diaz

12 Working as a Proud Archaeologist Where I Originate

Kodzo Gavua

13 Country, Language, Culture and Ancestors: The Cultural and Archaeological Journey of a Wiradjuri-Wangaaypuwan winarr

Sharon Hodgetts

14 Earth Mother, Sky Father and Everything Inbetween

Tracey Howie

15 Recalling Indigenous Knowledge in Cape Town

Robyn Humphreys and June Bam-Hutchison

16 From a Barman to a Scholar: Sharing the Experience of Being an Archaeologist and a Heritage Scholar in Tanzania

Elgidius E. B. Ichumbaki

17 Being and Becoming One of the Voices of Haitian Archaeology

Joseph Sony Jean

18 Coming Home with a Vengeance: Indigenous Activism on the Margins of Archaeology

Ivana Carina Jofré

19 What Makes Me Different

Des Tatana Kahotea

20 Making Inuit Archaeology Matter in Kalaallit Nunaat

Mari Kleist

21 Finding Strength in Culture and History

Jacinta Koolmatrie

22 Raiders of a Lost Identity: Indigeneity and Archaeology in the Dominican Republic

Pauline M. Kulstad-González

23 NDEE Archaeologist???

Nicholas Laluk

24 Learning and Teaching with Love: An Indigenous Auntie’s Journey in Archaeology

Ora V. Marek-Martinez

25 Becoming an African Archaeologist

Asmeret Ghebreigziabiher Mehari

26 Being an Indigenous Archaeologist is a Calling: Finding Purpose in Archaeology

Nthabiseng Mokoena-Mokhali

27 My Story as an Indigenous Archaeologist and the Story of the Sami Prehistory in Archaeology

Inga-Maria Mulk

28 The Past Is Exactly How It Should Be: Lessons in Indigenous Archaeology from a Birch Bark Biter

Bonnie D. Newsom

29 Being More Than an Indigenous Archaeologist

John William Norder

30 From Dictionary to Archaeology: My Intellectual Journey

Akinwumi Ogundiran  

31 Being “Indigenous’’ Is Weird

Rita Ujunwa Onah

32 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage

Lyndon Ormond-Parker

33 The Path to Recognizing One’s Own Indigenous Identity: Implications and Challenges for an Archaeologist from the Peruvian Andes

Manuel F. Perales Munguia

34 Growing up within the Territory of Great Zimbabwe

Innocent Pikirayi

35 Being a Nyikina Archaeologist

Emily Poelina-Hunter

36 Becoming a Wiradjuri Archaeologist

Kellie Pollard

37 Laklãnõ, the Daughter of the Sun and Her Journey

Walderes Coctá Priprá de Almeida

38 Rima O Te Rapa Nui—the Hand of Rapa Nui

Rafael Rapu Rapu

39 Reflections of a Oaxacan on Community Archaeological Work in Changing Times

Jorge Luis Rios Allier

40 When Science Becomes Personal: Practicing Scientific Research as a Borikua Archaeologist

Isabel C. Rivera-Callazo

41 A Journey to and from Archaeology

Zac Roberts

42 Finding a Sense of Belonging in a Discipline That Thinks You’re Extinct

Tsim D. Schneider

43 Becoming a Čâhiksičâhiks Archaeologist

Carlton Shield Chief Gover

44 Being an Indigenous Archaeologist in Sudan

Intisar Soghayroun

45 My Indian Name Is Pyroepistemology (“Fire Is a Cleansing Path”)

Paulette Steeves

46 Reweaving Relations: An Indigenous Archaeologist’s Journey

Kisha Supernant

47 My Difficult Journey through the Ethiopian Historical Layers

Habtamu Mekonnen Taddesse

48 Walking the Walk: The Adventures of an Indigenous Decolonialist in the Land of Archaeology

Diane L. Teeman

49 Being a Female Papua New Guinea Archaeologist: Finding My Feet through Understanding the Past

Roxanne Tsang

50 I Ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma Hope: Using Our Past to Inform Our Future: Cultural Heritage Stewardship by and for Our People

Kelley Lehuakeaopuna Uyeoka

51 Reclaiming Our Voices: An Indigenous Archaeologist’s Feminist Approach to Rock Art and Heritage

Emily C. Van Alst

52 Being a iTaukei Archaeologist

Tarisi Vunidilo

53 Developing a Wai Wai Archaeology to Strengthen Ancestral Knowledge

Jaimie Xamen Wai Wai

54 Knowledge as Wisdom

Camina Weasel Moccasin

55 The Land Is Our Mother

Annette Xiberras

56 Dè Goı̨zıí (“Place Names”)

John B. Zoe

PART 3. Reflective Essays

Object Lessons: Reflexive Research and Restorative Methodologies

Margaret M. Bruchac

Archaeology and Maya Studies among Contemporary Mayans

Antonio Cuxil

Learning How to Dig Deep in Order to Thrive

Dorothy Lippert

He maha ngā whaiwhakāro: Reflections of a Wahine Māori Archaeologist 

Makere (Margaret) Rika-Heke

PART 4. Afterword

Biography

George Nicholas is Distinguished Professor of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University, Canada, and holds adjunct faculty positions at Hokkaido University and Flinders University. An anthropologically oriented archaeologist, he has worked with and for Indigenous groups worldwide for over 35 years. He was founding director of SFU’s Indigenous Archaeology program in Kamloops, BC (1991–2005), and director of the Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage (IPinCH) project (2008–2016). His work focuses on research ethics, intellectual property, intangible heritage, archaeological theory, and Indigenous Archaeology. Previous publications include At a Crossroads: Archaeology and First Peoples in Canada (1997) and Being and Becoming Indigenous Archaeologists (2010).

Joe Watkins is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and has been involved in archaeology, anthropology and heritage preservation initiatives for more than 50 years. His book Indigenous Archaeology: American Indian Values and Scientific Practice (2000) is considered a foundational work in establishing Indigenous Archaeology as an internationally acknowledged area of Archaeology. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on the ethical practice of anthropology and anthropology’s relationships with descendant communities and populations, including American Indians, Australian Aboriginals, New Zealand Māori, and the Japanese Ainu. He was President of the Society for American Archaeology from 2018 to 2021.

"Nearly three decades ago, archaeologist Bruce Trigger observed that “archaeology will not be a decolonized discipline until there are a substantial number of fully qualified and practicing Native archaeologists.” Whatever a “substantial” number might be, archaeology is not yet there, but the number of Indigenous archaeologists is rapidly trending upward. The 56 archaeologists featured in Working as Indigenous Archaeologists can be added to the 36 featured in the 2010 volume Being and Becoming Indigenous Archaeologists. Their goals, challenges, and accomplishments in telling their peoples’ stories show what a decolonized archaeology will look like and what a far more inclusive and valuable discipline it can become." ~  Larry J. Zimmerman, PhD, Professor emeritus of Anthropology & Museum Studies, Indiana University Indianapolis.

"This is a splendid book. It opens the door to many paths not yet taken by archaeologists and offers a glimpse of a new era of understanding. It introduces a brighter future for archaeology than I could ever have imagined. This book is my favorite book." ~ K. Anne Pyburn, Provost's Professor of Anthropology, Indiana University, USA.

"The overall sense from the volume is that an archaeology informed by Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing is either within reach, or has already been achieved. This volume provides the signpost for how we can move forward. It is a valuable resource for any student of archaeology, where the past is not 'dusty', but an Indigenous present and future." ~ Ellwood, G., & Ross, A. (2026). Australian Archaeology, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1080/03122417.2026.2629619.