Archaeology and Indigenous Sovereignty: An Experiential Perspective on Producing Indigenous Archaeological Research

Abstract

Indigenous peoples around the world have a deeply contentious relationship with the discipline of archaeology. This is due to colonial notions of perceived European supremacy that position Indigenous people at the periphery of research regarding their own cultures. In the early days of archaeology in Australia, Indigenous peoples and places were dismissed or ignored, except to record the remnants of a 'dying culture'. This article draws on the history of Australian archaeology and, through critical reflection of my own experiences producing archaeological research as a sovereign Aboriginal man, proposes a critical re-evaluation of archaeological theory and method and its ties to colonial epistemology and ontology.