New book offers accounts from 60 Indigenous archaeologists

A new book featuring 60 Indigenous archaeologists from around the world includes a contribution from Tłı̨chǫ Government senior advisor John B Zoe.

The book, Working as Indigenous Archaeologists, was published in September 30. It is edited by George Nicholas, former professor of archaeology at Simon Fraser University, and his longterm research partner Joe Watkins, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

In a chapter named Dè Goı̨zı̀, Zoe summarizes some of his own work.

“Indigenous archaeologists are something nobody has ever talked about but there are a lot of people in that field,” Zoe told Cabin Radio on Tuesday.

“I have been doing a lot of internal research about place names and what is out in the bush beyond the community. When I first started going out with the Elders on the canoe, I started to realize quickly that we have a long history based on place names.”

Zoe said place names traditionally served as navigation tools, describing them as a “storybook with its own beginnings.” With the introduction of trade routes, churches, mining and other developments, settler place names were established, which he said intruded on the existing system.

Zoe’s research focuses on the connection between place names and their impact on the land.

“The story can get skewered,” he said.

“For somebody that doesn’t understand how things have developed, a lot of the Indigenous stuff in its true form is pretty old stuff, but the western ones through development are fairly new.”

Part of his work has involved understanding how Tłı̨chǫ people repurposed barrels discarded by miners.

Wood stoves have become the norm in recent years as they are highly efficient, Zoe said. In the old days, however, barrels thought by miners to be useless turned into something “fruitful” for locals.

Zoe said the barrels – some measuring up to 45 gallons – would be converted into wood stoves.

“Those things were used up until 20, 25 years ago in modern-day communities,” he explained.

Zoe said he hopes readers of the book gain a better understanding of how traditional knowledge can be combined with a western way of living.

“What would come out of the book is that our knowledge is just not based on the past. It’s a knowledge that has been developing for thousands of years,” he said.

Zoe said western ways of doing and measuring things offer “some comfort to developers to minimize their impacts,” but nonetheless changes take place, even those that might feel small.

“By writing our own stories, [we’re] making regulators or decision-makers look at these types of new information where there’s a combination of western and traditional knowledge coming together on these pages,” he said.

“These are things that should be visited any time there are developments being considered, so that the full impact of that development will be minimized without compromising what the exploration is about.”

The book’s publisher, Taylor & Francis, said each of the book’s 60 autobiographical chapters is authored by an Indigenous archaeologist or heritage specialist from across the globe.

“As archaeology continues to evolve, there remain strong tensions between an objective, science-oriented, evidentiary-based approach to knowing the past and a more subjective, relational, humanistic approach informed by local values, traditional knowledge, and holistic perspective,” the publisher stated.

“While there are no maps for these new territories, hearing directly from those Indigenous individuals who have pursued archaeology reveals the pathways taken. Those stories will provide inspiration and confidence for those curious about what lies ahead.”