Collaborative Archaeology at the Stewart Indian School

The American Indian Movement (AIM) was founded in Minneapolis in 1968. In his annual report for FY1971/72, Minnesota State Archaeologist Elden Johnson mentioned three Native American-lead protests of "prehistoric" archaeological projects during the 1971 field season, and pledged to partner with the Minnesota Indian Affairs Commission in future. The early 1970s were a moment when archaeologists, trained in a discipline with a long history of scientific colonialism and alienation of Native American practitioners, began to see, albeit dimly, the need to consult if not fully collaborate with descendant populations whom their research most directly affected. Progress since then has been unconscionably slow. This collection of essays, based on an archaeology field course offered by the University of Nevada, Reno, is a useful signpost on a disciplinary journey from mere legally mandated consultation to a more deeply collaborative and Indigenous archaeology, a journey set amidst a history of distrust between archaeologists who are steeped in Western logical positivism, and Indigenous groups who have been scientifically colonized for generations. This is not the first book to offer an alternative practice, but it is valuable because challenges to the project of decolonizing Indigenous histories remain embedded in heritage management law and practice. The history of the Stewart Indian School is emotionally fraught, and in 2013 research proceeded in partnership with the Nevada Indian Commission and the Washoe Tribal Historic Preservation Office. Shoshone and Paiute people were partners and contributors to the volume. The authors in this work stress the importance of respect and inclusivity at every stage of knowledge production.