Book Review - At a Crossroads: Archaeology and First Peoples in Canada

This edited volume comprehensively covers a range of issues which should be of great interest and importance to all archaeologists working with Indigenous peoples in Canada and elsewhere in the world. The volume arose in response to the 27th Canadian Archaeological Association’s (CAA) annual meeting, which was held in May 1994. Many of the chapters employ a self-reflexive approach to deconstruct the archaeological discipline. This approach is still desperately needed if we are to solve or at least improve on the philosophical, ethical and practical problems that ‘Indigenous Archaeology’ faces today. Indeed, in the words of Nicholas and Andrews (p. 3), “In both the sociopolitics and epistemologies of archaeology, it has long been clear that we can not and should not avoid the self-reflexive glance that has served ethnographic anthropology so well…”. The chapters comprising Part 1 of this book add to the literature of positive interactions between archaeologists and Indigenous peoples (e.g., Davidson et al. 1995). These positive interactions provide good examples of how archaeologists can work ethically and relevantly with Indigenous communities. The chapters in Part 2 discuss the positives, problems and challenges associated with incorporating or integrating traditional knowledges with archaeology. The final section of this edited book, Part 3, addresses the curation, presentation and ownership of the past. This section should be of great interest to anyone in the fields of museology or Indigenous property title.