Claire Smith AO is an archaeologist and ethnographer whose research has contributed to transforming how archaeology is practised in relation to Indigenous peoples. Her foundational work on decolonising archaeology — developing new ethical frameworks, repositioning Indigenous people as producers of knowledge and theory, and embedding community authority into research design — created the conditions for her current focus: weaving Aboriginal and Western knowledges as a practical and analytical tool for change. Reviews consistently identify her scholarship as redefining critical aspects of the discipline, especially its ethical and political orientation. Indigenous Archaeologies: Decolonising Theory and Practice (with H.M. Wobst) "defines and precipitates an important turning point" (L-J Smith, Antiquity), while Archaeology to Delight and Instruct (with Heather Burke) "marks a new direction in archaeological publishing" (Joan Gero), directly inspiring Karina Croucher and Hannah Cobb's Archaeology to Transform and Disrupt.

Claire Smith's vision is inexorably collaborative. Around 80% of her major outputs are collaborative: 40% with Aboriginal people and 40% with students and early career researchers. She has co-published 15 papers with community researchers, supported an Aboriginal-authored book by a community member, Eileen Cummings' I am the Daughter they Stole, and been executive producer for the documentary Jungayi: Caring for Country. Royalties from community histories, biographies and documentaries are directed to the appropriate community knowledge holders. Other royalties are directed to the World Archaeological Congress. This collaborative vision has deep roots: the 1997 Fulbright Symposium Indigenous Cultures in an Interconnected World, convened by Claire Smith and Heather Burke in Darwin, was described as demonstrating 'creative thinking' and 'a commitment to grounding the discussions in Indigenous expertise' (June Ross, Australian Archaeology).

The real-world impact of Claire Smith's research is evident in its uptake in government policy in Australia, the US, Indonesia and the UK. She conceived and led a major campaign that funded Aboriginal women from affected communities to deliver policy workshops nationwide on the NT Emergency Response Act (2007), and gave invited presentations to the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Her research is cited in the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Program's Best Practice Guidelines Our Knowledge Our Way in Caring for Country, identifying that 'the shift for non-Indigenous archaeologists is from working with us to working for us'.

Claire Smith co-leads the Australian Hub for the US National Science Foundation Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science (CBIKS) with Wiradjuri archaeologist Dr Kellie Pollard of Charles Darwin University, contributing to a paradigm shift in how Indigenous and Western knowledges are brought together effectively and ethically, guided by shared values of relationality, respect, representation, rightful redistribution and sacred responsibility.

Claire Smith's primary research is with Aboriginal communities in Australia, with occasional fieldwork with Indigenous groups in Asia and North America. Her interdisciplinary approach draws on philosophy, archaeology, cultural heritage, history, semiotics, archival studies, fire ecology and Indigenous studies, and has involved collaborative projects with scholars from cultural studies, history, Indigenous studies, Indonesian studies, anthropology, theology and digital media.

Current research programs include the ARC-funded Indigenist Archaeology project (IN220100079), led by Wiradjuri archaeologist Dr Kellie Pollard of Charles Darwin University, which aims to develop a new epistemological framework for archaeological practice in Australia — one shaped by Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing — working with Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and South Australia. The project draws on Western philosophical pluralism and Indigenous standpoint theory to challenge the assumption that Western epistemologies of knowledge-making can be universally applied to understand Indigenous archaeological histories.

Claire Smith leads an ARC-funded project (DP220101522) at Warratyi rockshelter, also known as The Rock, in the Flinders Ranges, braiding Adnyamathanha and Western knowledge systems to illuminate 50,000 years of cultural innovation in arid Australia. Adnyamathanha oral histories of ice-age climates and megafauna — including descriptions of yamarti/diprotodon — bring Indigenous knowledge into active conversation with the archaeological record, producing understandings and possibilities neither system could generate alone. This approach has significant implications for global debates on the dispersal of Homo sapiens and the emergence of modern human behaviour.

Claire Smith has held visiting appointments at Columbia University, Kyushu University, the University of Newcastle, the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, American University and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.

Key publications

Indigenous Archaeologies: Decolonising Theory and Practice (with H.M. Wobst, Routledge, 2005). 'Seeks no less a goal than to redefine indigenous archaeology globally as the pursuit of social justice. Methodologies must change, power relations must change, and indigenous systems of meaning and value must take priority' (Jeffrey Hantman, American Antiquity). First edited volume in the field with more Indigenous than non-Indigenous authors.

Global Social Archaeologies: Making a Difference in a World of Strangers, with Koji Mizoguchi of Kyushu University (Routledge, 2019). 'Makes a meaningful contribution to...archaeologies for the furtherance of basic human rights' (Chris Urwin, Heritage & Society).

Archaeology to Delight and Instruct: Active Learning in the University Classroom (with Heather Burke, Left Coast Press, 2007). 'By far the best collection of texts I have found on teaching archaeological theory and critical thinking' (R. Fife, Australasian Historical Archaeology).

The Archaeologist's Field Handbook (2004, 2008, 2012, 2017, 2021), Heather Burke, Mick Morrison & Claire Smith. US edition with Larry Zimmerman and Spanish edition with Ines Domingo Sanz. 'An essential aide for beginners and professionals' (Emeritus Professor John Mulvaney, ANU). Awarded the White Bequest for an Archaeological Publication, Australian Academy of Humanities.

Country, Kin and Culture: Survival of an Australian Aboriginal Community (Wakefield Press, 2004; reprinted 2020). A history of the Barunga community. 'Gives an insight into the life of some of those other Australians and deserves a general readership' (John D. Pratt, The Catholic Weekly). Shortlisted for the NSW Premier's History Award.

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology (Springer 2014; 2020) Over 14 million accesses (1st edition 7.81 million accesses, 272 citations, 740 Altmetric, May 2026. 2nd edition, 6.44 million accesses, 34 citations, 107 Altmetric, May 2026). Described in Antiquity as a 'snapshot of the discipline...unparalleled'. 

• Peter Birt - University Medal (April 2000)
• Steve Damhuis - University Medal (April 2006)
• Christopher Wilson - First Aboriginal man with PhD in archaeology (April 2017)
• Kellie Pollard - First Aboriginal woman with PhD in archaeology (August 2019)
• Jordan Ralph - elected President of the World Archaeological Congress (June 2025)
• Cate Sexton - Flinders University winner, Asia Pacific finalist in the 3-Minute-Thesis competition (August 2025)

• Colonialism and contact (4)
• Indigenous archaeology (19)
• Gender archaeology (4)
• Archaeology of the modern world (4)
• Historical archaeology (2)
• Archaeology and pedagogy (1)
• Architecture (1)
• Maritime (1)
• Museums (1)

• Indigenous archaeology (1)
• Historical archaeology (3)
• Aboriginal art (1)
• Gender archaeology (1)
• Architecture (2)
• Maritime (1)
• Heritage management (1)