Indigenous archaeology in Latin America. Towards an engaged, activist and intercultural archaeology

Abstract Taking into consideration the socio-political history and politics of identity in Latin America, Indigenous peoples’ current demands and the contemporary context of pressure on Indigenous territories from powerful groups who deny and challenge Indigenous identities and organisations in their pursuit to appropriate the natural and cultural resources of these territories, this paper argues for the necessity of an engaged, activist Indigenous archaeology in Latin America that is committed to the goals, claims and struggles of native peoples. The argument is that archaeology should move beyond critically reflecting on the discipline’s colonial history to develop a politically oriented and theoretically informed praxis that is in tune with Indigenous peoples’ project of dual decolonisation – the decolonisation of themselves and the decolonisation of the State. This praxis must be based on two principles: respecting Indigenous peoples as subjects of collective rights and political subjects, and embracing interculturality. The paper offers four examples of the challenges faced in making archaeology available to the subaltern.