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Maxine Oland, Siobhan M. Hart, and Liam Frink eds., Decolonizing Indigenous Histories: Exploring Prehistoric/Colonial Transitions in Archaeology. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2012. 320 pages. ISBN 978-08165-0408-4. $55 USD hardcover.
Archaeology as a Western discipline has frequently served to perpetuate the "Myth of the Vanishing Indian," particularly as it has existed in many parts of the United States of America. This mistaken impression must now be rectified through the alteration of fundamental organizational frameworks and adopted perspectives.
The above statement captures the overall tone and important message of Decolonizing Indigenous Histories: Exploring Prehistoric/Colonial Transitions in Archaeology, edited by Oland, Hart and Frink. This volume is a timely addition to the growing body of literature dealing with archaeological approaches to issues of colonialism and postcolonialism in the portrayal of Indigenous histories. On a personal level, it proved an interesting counterpart to preparations made for a recently taught course dealing with Archaeology and Society. Overall, the book successfully relates the role that archaeology can play in the decolonization of the Indigenous past.
The central issue addressed by all articles in the collection is the need to place Indigenous histories within long-term (longue durée) frameworks that emphasize "transitions" as opposed to abrupt breaks: "a process occurring over time bracketed by incipient European contacts in an area and the more intensive interactions that followed" (3). The inclusion of long-term Indigenous histories, and collaboration with contemporary communities and scholars across the subfields of anthropology, is argued to lead to the decolonizing of archaeological frameworks and interpretations. Although the debate rages on within the discipline concerning the role of Western empiricism in archaeo- ogy, particularly as it relates to postcolonial and Indigenous perspectives, extensive deliberation on the subject is not...