Holding Ground: Reconsidering the Sensitivity of Backdirt in the Context of NAGPRA

ABSTRACT

In the United States, many archaeological excavations focus on precontact era Native American sites, and for the majority of American archaeology’s existence, these have included a vast number of burial and sacred sites. When the human remains of Native American Ancestors, or remnants of sacred and ceremonial objects, are found, what implications does this have for the soil in which they rested? In addition to exploring questions regarding how backdirt is defined and assessed, we consider how backdirt may be interpreted as ecofact, as material culture, and even as NAGPRA-eligible funerary material or human remains. We hope to demonstrate that backdirt, as an example of some of the most insignificant archaeological material, poses interesting questions relating to interpretations of context, as well as consultation and collaboration with Indigenous communities.

KEYWORDS:

• NAGPRA
• repatriation
• backdirt
• soil samples
• mortuary archaeology
• archaeological ethics
• archaeology of place

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Allison Mickel and Christina Luke for their invitation to contribute to this special issue. We also gratefully acknowledge the support of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma in this work.

Disclosure Statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This work was not supported by any funding or grant-awarding bodies.

Notes on contributors

Krystiana L. Krupa

Krystiana L. Krupa (M.A. 2017, Indiana University) currently serves as the NAGPRA Program Officer for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and as a Research Affiliate in UIUC’s Center for Indigenous Science. Her research addresses the politics of repatriation practices and colonialism in professional and academic spaces.

Jayne-Leigh Thomas

Jayne-Leigh Thomas (Ph.D. 2011, University of Edinburgh) is the Director of the Office of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act at Indiana University. Her research interests are NAGPRA, repatriation, bioarchaeology, cremation studies, ethics, and ancient agriculture.

Rebecca Hawkins

Rebecca Hawkins (M.A. 1986, University of Cincinnati) is a principal and co-owner of Algonquin Consultants, Inc., an American Indian-owned archaeological consulting firm. An archaeologist, she is a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma’s NAGPRA Committee.

Julie Olds

Julie Olds (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma) has served as her Tribe’s Cultural Resources Officer for over 20 years. In that capacity, she oversees the Tribe’s NAGPRA and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Programs.

Scott Willard

Scott Willard (Miami Tribe of Oklahoma) has been an elected Councilperson for the Miami Tribe since 2010 and also serves as the NAGPRA Director. His experience with NAGPRA and related consultation processes spans 11 years, including work with a variety of museums and collecting institutions.