Papers by Laura E Kelvin
Archaeologies of the Heart, 2020
This chapter outlines our personal journeys towards a more heart-centred practice through our exp... more This chapter outlines our personal journeys towards a more heart-centred practice through our experiences as part of the Ikaahuk Archaeology Project, a community-focussed research project in Northern Canada. We describe how we came to the project and how we have tried to integrate our minds, hearts, and bodies in this work, through an emphasis on caring, putting our relationships with community members at the centre of everything we do, and doing, employing embodied and collective approaches to knowledge construction. We illustrate how the caring values of attentiveness, responsiveness, and responsibility have guided our work. This heart-centred approach draws our attention to the continuing legacy of our discipline’s colonial history and the institutional structures of academia that work against a community-engaged practice. It calls us to work to shift the priorities of our discipline and the institutional and legislative contexts within which we work so that they better support more holistic, caring scholarship that promotes social justice.
Canadian Journal of Archaeology, 2020
In this introduction to the special issue, we examine some of the ways that settler colonialism p... more In this introduction to the special issue, we examine some of the ways that settler colonialism permeates archaeology in Canada and argue for unsettling approaches to archaeology. Archaeology is a product of and remains a tool for settler colonialism, often oppressing both people of the past and people in the present, especially Indigenous People, Black People, People of Colour, and LGBTQ2S+ community members. We call for unsettling research paradigms, which aim to disrupt the settler colonial foundations that continue to permeate archaeological work and ensure that it benefits only a select few. Unsettling approaches target not only the work we do as archaeologists, but also the structures our work operates through, including universities, museums, different levels of government, and heritage policy and legislation governing private sector archaeology. They require us to acknowledge and confront our relationships to settler colonialism and the ways we participate in it, in all aspects of our lives. Unsettling paradigms play out differently within each project and for each participant, depending on individuals' unique relationships to settler colonialism, their own experiences, and the context. As illustrated in the papers in this special issue, they encompass themes of truth, listening, learning, feeling, relinquishing control, and building strong futures. To move towards an archaeology that is anti-colonial, anti-racist, and anti-mysogynist, we must address the deeply embedded colonialism, racism, and misogyny in Canadian settler colonial structures and society. We must start by addressing them within ourselves and the institutions that govern and support our work. Because the unequal power relations within archaeology are so entrenched and pervasive, change may come slowly. It will involve long-term commitment to an ongoing cycle of learning, feeling (particularly when we feel uncomfortable), questioning, and most importantly, acting.
Canadian Journal of Archaeology, 2020
In this collaborative paper between university-based archaeologists and Nunatsiavummiut youth, we... more In this collaborative paper between university-based archaeologists and Nunatsiavummiut youth, we discuss our attempts to unsettle our research while working on community-oriented projects in Hopedale, Nunatsiavut, through the application of strength-based approaches. We outline the need for strength-based approaches for involving Nunatsiavummiut youth in archaeology and the ways we apply these approaches to Kelvin's research project, the Agvituk Digital Archive Project, and Gil-heany's dissertation research on the recent history of Hopedale. We incorporate key aspects of these approaches, including: focu-sing on the whole person and recognizing their social context; actively involving participants in decisions; recognizing strengths and expertise of participants so that everyone is both a teacher and a learner; and encouraging experiences where group members can be successful. We argue that an unsettled , strength-based approach necessitates a future-oriented archaeology. Résumé. Dans cet article produit en collaboration par des archéologues rattachés à l'université et des jeunes Nunatsiavummiuts, nous discutons de nos tentatives visant à dés-tabiliser notre recherche tout en travaillant sur des projets communautaires à Hopedale, Nunatsiavut. Nous mettons l'accent sur la nécessité d'adopter des approches axées sur les points forts pour faire participer les jeunes Nunatsiavummiuts à l'archéologie ainsi que sur les manières dont nous appli-quons ces approches au projet de recherche de Laura Kelvin-le projet d'archives numé-riques Agvituk-et la recherche de disserta-tion d'Emma Gilheany portant sur l'histoire récente de Hopedale. Nous incorporons des aspects-clés de ces approches, notamment : nous concentrer sur la personne dans son ensemble et reconnaître son contexte social; faire en sorte que les participants jouent un rôle actif dans la prise de décisions; reconnaître les points forts et l'expertise des participants afin que tous soient à la fois enseignants et apprenants; et encourager des expériences pour lesquelles les membres du groupe sont susceptibles de réussir. Nous soutenons qu'une approche déstabilisée axée sur les points forts nécessite une archéologie orientée vers l'avenir.
Canadian Journal of Archaeology, 2020
In this introduction to the special issue, we examine some of the ways that settler colonialism p... more In this introduction to the special issue, we examine some of the ways that settler colonialism permeates archaeology in Canada and argue for unsettling approaches to archaeology. Archaeology is a product of and remains a tool for settler colonialism, often oppressing both people of the past and people in the present, especially Indigenous People, Black People, People of Colour, and LGBTQ2S+ community members. We call for unsettling research paradigms, which aim to disrupt the settler colonial foundations that continue to permeate archaeological work and ensure that it benefits only a select few. Unsettling approaches target not only the work we do as archaeologists, but also the structures our work operates through, including universities, museums, different levels of government, and heritage policy and legislation governing private sector archaeology. They require us to acknowledge and confront our relationships to settler colonialism and the ways we participate in it, in all aspects of our lives. Unsettling paradigms play out differently within each project and for each participant, depending on individuals' unique relationships to settler colonialism, their own experiences, and the context. As illustrated in the papers in this special issue, they encompass themes of truth, listening, learning, feeling, relinquishing control, and building strong futures. To move towards an archaeology that is anti-colonial, anti-racist, and anti-mysogynist, we must address the deeply embedded colonialism, racism, and misogyny in Canadian settler colonial structures and society. We must start by addressing them within ourselves and the institutions that govern and support our work. Because the unequal power relations within archaeology are so entrenched and pervasive, change may come slowly. It will involve long-term commitment to an ongoing cycle of learning, feeling (particularly when we feel uncomfortable), questioning, and most importantly, acting.
Conference Presentations by Laura E Kelvin
Communities are often easily defined by political, ethnic or geographic boundaries and are assume... more Communities are often easily defined by political, ethnic or geographic boundaries and are assumed to have common interests and homogeneous value systems. However, upon closer inspection communities are often revealed as complex, multifaceted, and heterogeneous. What people assume to be a single community is often comprised of several communities with fluid memberships. This makes identifying and effectively defining a community difficult, even for people who are part of the community, and raises challenges for community-based research. In the summer of 2013 Kelvin conducted preliminary ethnographic research in the Inuvialuit community of Sachs Harbour, NWT (pop. 80) as part of the Ikaahuk Archaeology Project. The goal of this research was to canvas opinions about archaeological research and the future path of the project, and to begin recording family histories and Inuvialuit knowledge of the land. It soon became clear that people within the community had different perceptions of archaeology and competing histories of the island. This paper will explore this variability and consider its implications for developing a community-based archaeology project.
As part of community-based projects, archaeologists often use Inuit oral histories to assist in t... more As part of community-based projects, archaeologists often use Inuit oral histories to assist in their interpretations of the past. Oral histories, however, are only one aspect of Inuit historicity. The ways in which the Inuit understand, relate to, and learn about the past are multifaceted and diverse, and extend far beyond the formal communication of oral histories. Based on archaeological ethnographic research with the Inuvialuit community of Sachs Harbour, NWT, as part of the Ikaahuk Archaeology Project, this paper will examine the diversity of Inuvialuit historicity, or historicities, and how archaeologists can apply various aspects of Inuvialuit historicities to their interpretations.
Traditional knowledge and oral histories have always aided in archaeological interpretations. How... more Traditional knowledge and oral histories have always aided in archaeological interpretations. However, these forms of knowledge are only one aspect of Inuit historicities. The ways in which the Inuit understand, relate to, and learn about the past are multifaceted and diverse, and extend far beyond the formal communication of oral histories and traditional knowledge. Archaeologists working in the North are increasingly recognizing that in order to build meaningful partnerships with local communities a better understanding of Inuit historicities is needed. The Ikaahuk Archaeology Project is currently
in its fourth year and is a community-oriented project working with people from the Inuvialuit community of Sachs Harbour. Based on archaeological ethnographic research with the community, this paper will examine the diversity of Inuvialuit historicities, and how this relates to community-based archaeology.
Exhibits by Laura E Kelvin
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Papers by Laura E Kelvin
Conference Presentations by Laura E Kelvin
in its fourth year and is a community-oriented project working with people from the Inuvialuit community of Sachs Harbour. Based on archaeological ethnographic research with the community, this paper will examine the diversity of Inuvialuit historicities, and how this relates to community-based archaeology.
Exhibits by Laura E Kelvin
in its fourth year and is a community-oriented project working with people from the Inuvialuit community of Sachs Harbour. Based on archaeological ethnographic research with the community, this paper will examine the diversity of Inuvialuit historicities, and how this relates to community-based archaeology.