ABSTRACT
Archaeology, the study of the human past via remains of material culture, is a field steeped in a colonial disciplinary history, which includes roots in classical archaeology and anthropology. This chapter presents a discussion of how displaced stories of the past represent environmental injustices upon heritage, particularly the heritage of people who recognize protected archaeological places as ancestral homes. An important arena in which development and archaeology intersect is within tourism experiences, particularly in reference to heritage sites within state, national, and international parks. Visitors to Mesa Verde National Park in the southwestern United States, for example, are drawn for purposes of exploration and touristic fascination with the famous cliff-dwelling sites, such as Cliff Palace, Spruce Tree House, and Balcony House. A conceptual framework from environmental justice studies empowers a new conversation about the ethics of archaeology, tourism, and development for people connected to places through heritage, such as members of descendant Pueblo communities in relation to Mesa Verde.
