TY - JOUR

T1 - Archaeology and social justice in island worlds

AU - Fricke, Felicia

AU - Hoerman, Rachel

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Ongoing discussions about the problems of white supremacy and colonialism in archaeology are useful but have not, thus far, fully considered the exacerbated effects of these issues on small islands. In this opinion piece, we, two white women academics from the Global North with extensive experience working in the Dutch Caribbean and the Hawaiian Islands, observe these exacerbated effects in governance, academic hegemony, and community relations, and call for more consideration of the effects of our discipline in small island contexts. Ultimately, in line with the observations of local, descendant, and Indigenous scholars, we argue that archaeologists must invest in de-colonial, antiracist, and social justice efforts in heritage fields and industries by foregrounding the wishes and needs of island communities. This may involve modifying or altogether abandoning current motivations and practices to build a discipline that can be a positive rather than a negative in island worlds.

AB - Ongoing discussions about the problems of white supremacy and colonialism in archaeology are useful but have not, thus far, fully considered the exacerbated effects of these issues on small islands. In this opinion piece, we, two white women academics from the Global North with extensive experience working in the Dutch Caribbean and the Hawaiian Islands, observe these exacerbated effects in governance, academic hegemony, and community relations, and call for more consideration of the effects of our discipline in small island contexts. Ultimately, in line with the observations of local, descendant, and Indigenous scholars, we argue that archaeologists must invest in de-colonial, antiracist, and social justice efforts in heritage fields and industries by foregrounding the wishes and needs of island communities. This may involve modifying or altogether abandoning current motivations and practices to build a discipline that can be a positive rather than a negative in island worlds.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - Social Justice

KW - island archaeology

KW - neo-colonialism

KW - ethical practice

KW - community consultation

KW - extractive capitalism

U2 - 10.1080/00438243.2023.2179538

DO - 10.1080/00438243.2023.2179538

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37261101

JO - World Archaeology

JF - World Archaeology

SN - 0043-8243

ER -