In Archaeologies of Indigenous Presence, editors Tsim D. Schneider and Lee M. Panich bring together a compelling and timely collection that challenges how we think about North American archaeology. The volume is divided into two sections—“Conceptual Approaches” and “Methodological Approaches”—although the line between concept and method is itself a colonial distinction that this book actively unsettles. Across the chapters, authors offer methods that can be applied and adapted in practice, demonstrating that Indigenous presence (linguistic, material, and epistemic) continues to shape the archaeological record and how we study it.
The editors situate this volume within ongoing conversations in Indigenous and collaborative archaeology, building on frameworks in Archaeologies of the Heart (edited by Kisha Supernant, Jane Eva Baxter, Natasha Lyons, and Sonya Atalay, 2020) and other recent publications. At the same time, they focus on a period that often gets overlooked: post-1492 Indigenous history. Colonization reshaped landscapes, relationships, and material culture, yet archaeology has often treated this period as peripheral. Schneider, Panich, and their contributors show how postcontact Indigenous archaeology can and should be central, not marginal, to the discipline.
The first chapters set the foundation for this reframing, acknowledging that “archaeology is not designed to study post-contact Natives’ histories” (p. 42). In chapter 1, the editors highlight methods that center Indigenous survivance and agency, emphasizing that Native histories are ongoing, not “disrupted” by colonial contact. In chapter 2, Ian Kretzler highlights the strengths of a distinct Grand Ronde (Oregon) framework of archaeology, showing through Grand Ronde Historic Preservation Office case studies that collaborative research is essential for understanding postcontact sites.
In chapter 3, Catherine E. Dickson and Shawn Steinmetz foreground the power of language and naming, drawing on work with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon. Words matter, the authors remind us, because terminology and temporal framing carry authority and sovereignty (pp. 53–55). To interpret sites fully, archaeologists must work with and learn from the communities to whom those places belong.
Chapters 4 through 6 explore naming, placemaking, and sovereignty. Chapter 4, written from an Ndee (Apache) perspective by Nicholas C. Laluk, examines “absence” and challenges modern assumptions about visibility. His discussion of “Ndee avoidance” reframes absence not as emptiness but as enduring presence: “The words ‘absence’ and ‘ephemeral’ fail to capture the beautiful presence of Ndee culture . . . we have always been here” (p. 86)—“here,” in this case, meaning Arizona. Chapters 5 (Matthew Beaudoin) and 6 (Sarah Trabert) show how placemaking and correcting misattributions at sites like El Cuartelejo (Kansas) and Deer Creek (Oklahoma) reclaim Indigenous authorship and challenge colonial narratives of the past.
Chapters 7–9 demonstrate how community-based, multiscalar research can recover Indigenous experiences that are otherwise obscured in the archaeological record. In chapter 7, Dave W. Scheidecker, Maureen Mahoney, and Paul N. Backhouse pair Seminole family oral histories with ephemeral site material from Florida to illustrate the limits of conventional archaeological evidence. In chapter 8, which focuses on California, Kathleen L. Hull argues that site-specific assemblages from post-1492 contexts are critical for developing regional datasets capable of identifying Indigenous presence in colonial hinterlands, areas directly or indirectly affected by colonization. In chapter 9, Hannah Russell calls for renewed rigor in post-1492 archaeology, highlighting how processual frameworks continue to shape CRM practices and, in so doing, can obscure Indigenous histories. Collectively, these chapters insist that postcontact archaeology requires the same analytical care and methodological commitment as precontact research, guided foremost by Indigenous priorities rather than by regulatory compliance.
Chapters 10–12 expand the geographic and analytical lens. Crow histories in Wyoming and Montana show the intersections of Indigenous life with early tourism economies (Laura Scheiber, chapter 10). Archaeometry work on glass trade beads in the Great Lakes highlights how collaborative research can illuminate Indigenous trade networks (Heather Walder, chapter 11). Small sites in Haudenosaunee territory in the Northeast reveal that what may appear peripheral often represents strategic and intensified land use (Kurt A. Jordan, chapter 12). These chapters collectively demonstrate that Indigenous persistence exists not only in large, well-documented sites but also in the subtle, sometimes ephemeral traces that reveal resilience and adaptation.
Chapters 13 and 14 turn toward the emotional, ethical, and political dimensions of collaboration. In chapter 13, Sarah E. Cowie and Diane L. Teeman confront landscapes shaped by forced removal and by boarding schools, showing how collaborative archaeology allows Indigenous community members to contribute knowledge and interpretive authority. In chapter 14, Schneider, Peter A. Nelson, and Nick Tipon broaden the idea of “presence” beyond material evidence to include Indigenous involvement in research design, authorship, and the governance of archaeological knowledge. Presence, the editors argue, is not just what we study: it is how we study.
The volume’s greatest strength lies in its transparency and applicability. Contributors describe methods that other practitioners can adopt, demonstrating that collaborative research is feasible and meaningful within both academic and CRM settings. The inclusion of CRM professionals is especially valuable, showing that collaboration extends beyond compliance and into ethical, relational practice.
There are minor limitations. The volume focuses heavily on the western United States, particularly California and the Pacific Coast, leaving other regions like the Southeast less represented. Some readers may also wish for a more explicit discussion of NAGPRA practice. But these minor concerns do not overshadow the book’s contributions, which are substantial and widely applicable.
Archaeologies of Indigenous Presence is an essential work for anyone invested in Indigenous archaeology, collaborative research, or decolonial approaches. It demonstrates that Indigenous histories did not end with colonization but continue to shape landscapes, material culture, and knowledge production. For CRM practitioners, academics, and students, it provides both inspiration and practical guidance for doing archaeology with, not simply about, Indigenous communities. Schneider and Panich make clear that Indigenous presence is not just a subject of study; it is the foundation for how archaeology must now proceed.
