Hands-On History: Applying a Strong Like Two People Approach to Archaeology Education
Abstract
This thesis explores Indigenization in the context of archaeology and Western education at the Tundra Science and Culture Camp (TSCC), a government-run summer camp in the Northwest Territories, Canada. By collaborating with Indigenous knowledge holders, it begins the process of re-designing the Human History session—a program within the TSCC that focuses on archaeology and the cultural sites around the camp—to incorporate more Indigenous pedagogies and knowledge. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and participant observation, this thesis outlines an attempt to Indigenize the Human History session at the 2022 TSCC, its successes and challenges, and diverse conceptions of what it would mean to Indigenize the camp. This thesis concludes that the camp’s current Western structure and hidden curriculum greatly limit the extent to which programming within it can be effectively Indigenized. It recommends that camp organizers including the Indigenous instructors step back and articulate the aims of Indigenizing the camp in order to chart future directions for achieving those aims.