- Sara Beanlands, Boreas Heritage Consulting
- Jodi Howe (Mi'kmaq), Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq
- Michelle Lelièvre, Department of Anthropology, William & Mary
- Kisha Supernant, (Métis/Papaschase/British), Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta
At more than any point in the history of Canadian archaeology, Indigenous academics, knowledge keepers, artists, Elders, and youth are now participating and leading archaeological research and cultural resource management projects. At the same time, as individuals and institutions work towards reconciliation and decolonization, more archaeologists recognize the opportunities that archaeology can provide to foster land-based learning, to reconnect Indigenous communities to their lands and ancestors, and to support the well-being of Indigenous peoples (see Schaepe et al. 2017; 2021).
And yet, accompanying this progress in archaeology is an increasing awareness that archaeological field sites, labs, and classrooms have not always been safe places for Indigenous peoples. Many Indigenous faculty members, students, and CRM personnel balance cultural stress, intergenerational trauma, and structural racism with the physical and mental toll that the demands of archaeology exact. Moreover, our Indigenous and non-Indigenous colleagues have documented the harassment and violence that many women, members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, gender non-conforming individuals, and racialized peoples risk while working or volunteering in archaeology (see Hodgetts et al. 2020; Voss 2021 a, b). And Indigenous peoples risk secondary trauma when working on projects where cultural protocols are violated or ignored.
We propose a session that would begin with a panel of Indigenous archaeologists and other Indigenous peoples with experience in archaeology who would share their experiences—both positive and negative—working in this field. These presentations would be followed by a talking circle facilitated by Kisha Supernant during which conference attendees will ask questions of the panelists and share their own experiences. Our hope is that the talking circle will result in recommendations to archaeologists—especially project directors and principal investigators—for how to enact trauma-informed approaches to field- and lab-work, teaching, mentoring, and community collaborations.