Indigenous archaeology and anti-colonial conversations for cultural resource management archaeology in what is now known as British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

How can archaeologists do archaeology in an anti-colonial way within Cultural Resource Management (CRM)? We explore this theme by first explaining why decolonial theory and practice is not enough, and then defining what we mean by anti-colonial practice, specifically within in CRM in British Columbia, Canada. All practitioners of archaeology must acknowledge many elements of Western archaeological practice which perpetuate harm to Indigenous communities. It is not enough to be intentionally decolonial in our approaches. Instead, we advocate for an anti-colonial practice: a mix of both seen and unseen work that archaeologists, whether Indigenous or not, can do to centre Indigenous heritage, the Ancestors and descendant communities. This practice requires a conscious effort and commitment to consistently critique our innate colonial bias present in day-to-day CRM. This paper proffers tangible constructive advice for archaeologists with the hope of engendering new, daily practices.