In our last season, we explored the problematic colonial roots of the academic fields of Anthropology and Archaeology, "Salvage Anthropology" and legacies of extractive and exploitation of Indigenous communities. In this episode we will share an example of how some contemporary archaeologists are working closely with Tribal members to focus their research on issues that are of interest and helpful for Tribal members. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has been working closely with Archaeologists over the last fifteen years, culminating in a Summer Archaeology Program that draws together Archaeology students and Tribal members from the Amah Mutsun and other partnering Tribes, in a collaborative learning and field work project.

Speakers:

Amah Mutsun Tribal Members, Gabriel Pineida & Elizabeth Rodriguez, Cameron Dakota-Chow Garcia (Chalon Ohlone-Esselen, Zacateco), Amah Mutsun Land Trust Cultural Resources Program Manager, Alec Apodaca, and Gabe Sanchez, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Oregon.

For further reading / listening:

2025 Summer Internship Program: Collaborative Archaeology, Heritage, and Cultural Landscapes

Recent Collaborative Archaeological Fieldwork on the Santa Cruz Coast

California Archaeology, Volume 5, Issue 2 (2013) - Special journal examining the collaborative work done by California State Parks, UC Berkeley Archaeology Department, and members of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band.

You can listen to our previous episodes about the historic problems in Archaeology at these links:

s02e02: Salvage Anthropology "A Nasty Business"

s02e03: The Legacy of Kroeber, Ishi, & UC Berkeley

This episode includes an interview with Tony Platt, author of The Scandal of Cal: Land Grabs, White Supremacy, and Miseducation at UC Berkeley.

Dr. Platt is the author of thirteen books and 150 essays and articles on race, inequality, and social justice in American history, among them Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States; Bloodlines: Recovering Hitler’s Nuremberg Laws, from Patton’s Trophy to Public Memorial; and The Child Savers: The Invention of Delinquency.

In this interview he also discusses the book he wrote prior to this one, Grave Matters: The Controversy over Excavating California’s Buried Indigenous Past, which explores the Indigenous led fight to protect burial sites up in Humboldt County in the 1970s and 80s. We encourage you to check out both books.

You can find more about Dr. Platt's work on these topics in the following articles:

"A Top UC Berkeley Professor Taught With Remains That May Include Dozens of Native Americans," ProPublica, March 5, 2023.

The Repatriation Project: The Delayed Return of Native Remains

The Repatriation Project: NAGPRA Database

For more on the history of UC Berkeley and Alfred Kroeber, give a listen to our podcast episode on these topics:

s02e03: The Legacy of Kroeber, Ishi, & UC Berkeley

On NAGPRA and Repatriation, listen to:

s02e04: "You Have Disturbed Our Ancestors" (NAGPRA p.I)

s02e05: "Bury Them with Dignity" (NAGPRA p. II)

s02e06: "This Work Has to be Done" (NAGPRA p.III)

Audio editing: Daniel Stonebloom

Interview: Martin Rizzo-Martinez

Music: G. Gonzales

"Chumash Uprising" logo artwork: John Jota Leaños

This episode includes an interview with Caitlin Keliiaa about her new book, Refusing Settler Domesticity: Native Women's Labor and Resistance in the Bay Area Outing Program. Dr. Keliiaa's study explores the history of young Native women’s lives and experiences as Bay Area domestic workers through the San Francisco Bay Area Outing Program, connected with the Indian Boarding Schools.

You can find more on Dr. Keliiaa's work at her website, or follow her on her instagram.

You can purchase her book online with a 40% off discount by using the following link and discount code:

tinyurl.com/keliiaa

Use the code WASHOE for 40% off

If you are based in the SF Bay Area and want to buy the book from a local bookseller, you can find it at Books on B in Hayward and the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) gift shop.

For more on the Indian Boarding Schools, with a focus on California, you can listen to our previous podcast episode, which included Dr. Keliiaa:

https://rss.com/podcasts/challengingcolonialism/480178/

Audio editing: Daniel Stonebloom

Interview: Martin Rizzo-Martinez

Music: G. Gonzales

"Chumash Uprising" logo artwork: John Jota Leaños