ABSTRACT
Archaeology has been and is a tool of colonialism. The enactment of archaeological research to claim and create nationalistic heritage has been used as justificatory action to displace Indigenous perspectives and interpretations of the past. Although in the past 20 years archaeologists have attempted to decolonize archaeology, it may be a feat that is never fully actualized. However, the premise of Indigenous archaeology—the integration of Indigenous knowledge into archaeological research—has been integral to rebuilding trust and relationships between Indigenous groups and archaeologists and has resulted in new perspectives of the past. The inclusion of Indigenous cultural knowledge into archaeological methods and interpretations and into heritage management practices can address these issues in order to overcome the colonialist roots of archaeology and to engage archaeology in a way that involves Indigenous peoples and provides a way for Indigenous culture and lifeways to be used in piecing together the past. Research that is based at the heart of Indigenous communities and their lifeways supports the ability of communities to tell their own stories about the deep past alongside archaeological stories, which strengthens the archaeological record and relationships between archaeologists and Indigenous peoples.
