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Beyond the Margin: American Indians, First Nations, and Archaeology in North America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Joe E. Watkins
Joe E. Watkins*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131-0001
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Abstract

In North America, American Indians and First Nations have often been at odds with archaeologists over the status of their relationships, about who should have control over research designs and research questions, the interpretation of information about past cultures, and the ways past cultures are represented in the present. While the influence of the voice of Indigenous Nations in the discipline has risen, in many ways their voices are as stifled now as they were in the 1960s. This paper gives an American Indian perspective on the current practice of archaeology in North America and offers suggestions for improving relationships.

Résumé

Résumé

En Norteamérica, los indígenas americanos y las gentes de las “Primeras Naciones” han estado frecuentemente en desacuerdo con los arqueólogos en cuanto a quién debe tener control sobre diseños y preguntas de investigación, la interpretación de información sobre culturas pasadas, y el modo en que estas culturas son representadas en el presente. Aunque la influencia de la voz de las Naciones Indígenas ha crecido en esta disciplina, en muchos modos sus voces están tan ahogadas ahora como lo estaban en los años sesenta. Esta ponencia presenta el punto de vista del indígena americano en la práctica actual de arqueología en Norteamérica y ofrece sugerencias para mejorar las relaciones.

Type
Special Section: Mapping the Terrain of Americanist Archaeology
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , April 2003 , pp. 273 - 285
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2003

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