NATIVE AMERICANS AND THE PRACTICE OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Abstract

▪ Abstract  Archaeologists are in the midst of restructuring their relationship with Native Americans. The legal, political, social, and intellectual ramifications of this process are reviewed to examine the fundamental changes occurring in the way archaeology is conducted in the Americas. Much of the impetus for this change resulted from the criticism of archaeology by Native Americans, which led to passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). NAGPRA has indelibly changed how archaeologists will work in the United States. The issues raised by Native Americans about why and how archaeological research is conducted, however, go beyond NAGPRA to the paradigmatic basis of archaeology. Archaeologists will have new opportunities available to them if they work in partnership with Native Americans in studying the rich archaeological record in the Americas.