What does it mean to practice an Indigenous archaeology and how might it change the methods we use to document Indigenous heritage or even alter the stories we tell? For the past six years Field Methods in Indigenous Archaeology, a community-based participatory research project with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's Historic Preservation Office, has created a Grand Ronde way for studying the past that shows us what is possible when we work together to remember and tell tribal histories. This approach is rooted in the fundamental recognition of the Tribal Nation's sovereignty to create a self-determined future for how Grand Ronde heritage is cared for, now and into the future. Preliminary outcomes from the project’s community-based fieldwork and training program suggest that Indigenizing archaeology not only transforms our discipline’s relationship with and to Indigenous communities, but also transforms the relations of archaeology––from the field to the classroom––in ways that build our collective capacity to care for Indigenous heritage. 

Dr. Sara L. Gonzalez is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Curator of Archaeology at the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture. An anthropological archaeologist by training, she works at the intersection of Indigenous studies, tribal historic preservation, and public history. Her research contributes to the growing field of Indigenous and community-based archaeologies, which feature the direct engagement of Indigenous peoples in archaeology and are committed to the integration of Indigenous knowledge and methods into archaeological practice. In addition to this work, Dr. Gonzalez has recently co-founded the Indigenous Archaeology Collective, a network of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars within archaeology and related fields, and is a founding board member of the Black Trowel Collective Microgrants, which provides funding for archaeology students from working-class & historically looted communities.