The future of archaeology is (still) community collaboration

Abstract

In this contribution to our periodic ‘Archaeological Futures’ series, Lindsay M. Montgomery and Tiffany C. Fryer reflect on the reshaping of archaeological praxis in the Americas through recent developments in collaborative community-engaged research. Over the past 20 years, new theoretical and methodological approaches informed by decolonisation and Black feminism have shifted power dynamics within the discipline. The authors review this growing body of research, highlighting trends in collaborative archaeological research and discussing some of the ongoing challenges and tensions. They argue that this collaborative paradigm marks a new future for archaeology in the Americas, which will increasingly centre on topics of importance to Black and Indigenous scholars and descendant communities.

Fighting erasure and dispossession in the San Francisco Bay Area: putting archaeology to work for the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe

“…In thinking about how archaeology can contribute to the Tribe's efforts to protect heritage sites and steward its ancestral homelands, it is critical to recognize that Muwekma Ohlone leaders and the broader Ohlone community have been involved in this work for many decades-longer, in fact, than the current trend toward collaborative and community-based approaches among many non-Native archaeologists (e.g., Cambra et al, 1996;Field et al, 2007). Still, inasmuch as the interrelated projects described below follow the interests and direction of the Tribe, we broadly position our work as contributing to ongoing shifts toward archaeologies centered on principles of community engagement, social justice, and Indigenous sovereignty (Schneider and Hayes, 2020;Nelson, 2021;Laluk et al, 2022;Little, 2023;Montgomery and Fryer, 2023). Particularly as educators, we wish to instill these ethics in the students that we train to become the next generation of archaeologists while simultaneously working toward a future where "archaeology and related heritage practices can be put to work effectively supporting things that matter beyond the small circles of our disciplines" (Fryer and Dedrick, 2023, p. 335).…”

“…Of course, this work is not always easy, and it is important for students and practitioners alike to reflect on the challenges of engaging with difficult histories across differences in individual and institutional positionalities (Lueck et al, 2021;Gomez and Lueck, 2023). But it is worth doing, since as Montgomery and Fryer (2023) remind us, "the future of archaeology is (still) community collaboration. "…”