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Cambridge Heritage Research Centre

 

Title: Towards an Ethical Archaeology: Challenges in bridging the gap between Indigenous knowledge and archaeological practice in Kalaallit Nunaat

Speaker: Kirstine E Møller (Greenland National Museums and Archive and Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Ilismatusarfik—the University of Greenland)

 

Registration: click to register

 

Traditionally, archaeology in the North American continent has been and continues to be predominantly euro-centric. Pre-European contact cultures have been labelled prehistoric, undermining the oral histories informing their living descendants. The terminology does not only affect the archaeological discourse but also affect Indigenous peoples and the policies dictating their lives.

Historically, Kalaallit, Greenlandic Inuit, have been used as informants in archaeological and historical projects, where Western researchers have exerted control on our belongings, pushing our knowledge and concerns to the margins.

While the overall concept of decolonisation and archaeology in theory and practice has been widely researched, the relationship between archaeologists and Indigenous communities needs further examination in order to navigate the field ethically. The Inuit Circumpolar Council released a statement in 2020, lamenting how the concept of ‘local communities’ has eroded and how it affects the rights of Indigenous peoples, underlining the need for an ethical framework within archaeology.

Kirstine E. Møller is a PhD fellow at the Greenland National Museum and Archives with joint enrollment at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador and Ilisimatusarfik – the University of Greenland. She is an Indigenous Arctic archaeologist whose research interests include identity narratives, entangled histories, cultural encounters and colonialism in the Arctic, and decolonisation practices.

 

Date: 
Thursday, 5 May, 2022 - 13:00
Event location: 
Online on Zoom