ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines a contemporary discourse on the indigenous; that is to say, the manner in which notions of the indigenous circulate in contemporary discussions in archaeology, and more broadly. The notion of the indigenous has been important to World Archaeological Congress (WAC) as a foil to hegemonic conceptions of the discipline and as a basis for articulating alternative forms of practice. A starting point in conceptualization of the Indigenous is the recognition that it exists in a double sense: first, as a product of colonialist discourse, in which it appears as an inverted image of the Western self, and second, as a site of local refusal and resistance to the effects of late-capitalist globalization. The materiality of archaeological sites, sacred sites and remains in the ground, including human remains, become powerful points of organization and mobilization in struggles against property developers, mining activities, encroaching dams, unwanted infrastructure and agri-business.
