In our previous episode we explored an example of collaborative, Tribal centered archaeology in looking at the Amah Mutsun Summer Archaeology Program, which collaborated between the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and Archaeology students and professors at the University of Oregon. In this episode we speak with Dr, Kent Lightfoot, recently retired Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught and trained dozens of Archaeologists. Dr. Lightfoot is well known for his advocacy for doing Archaeology that aligns with, and is led by Tribal interests, a departure from the colonial approach to archaeology that we explored in Season 2 of our podcast.

For further reading:

Books:

Indians, Missionaries, and Merchants: The Legacy of Colonial Encounters on the California Frontiers, by Kent Lightfoot

California Indians and Their Environment: An Introduction, by Kent Lightfoot & Otis Parrish

Inclusion, Transformation, and Humility in North American Archaeology: Essays and Other “Great Stuff” Inspired by Kent G. Lightfoot, Edited by Seth Mallios, Sara L. Gonzalez, Michael Grone, Kathleen L. Hull, Peter Nelson, and Stephen W. Silliman

Articles:

"The Study of Sustained Colonialism: An Example from the Kashaya Pomo Homeland in Northern California," by Kent Lightfoot & Sara L. Gonzalez.

"The Study of Indigenous Management Practices in California: An Introduction," by Kent Lightfoot & Amah Mutsun Tribal Chair Valentin Lopez.

Recent Collaborative Archeaological Fieldwork on the Santa Cruz Coast, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band website.

Archaeology’s Diachronic Dimension, Historical Anthropology, and the Hawaiian-Shirt Renaissance: An Interview with Kent Lightfoot, by Seth Mallios, conducted in 2004.

In our last season, we explored the problematic colonial roots of the academic fields of Anthropology and Archaeology, "Salvage Anthropology" and legacies of extractive and exploitation of Indigenous communities. In this episode we will share an example of how some contemporary archaeologists are working closely with Tribal members to focus their research on issues that are of interest and helpful for Tribal members. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has been working closely with Archaeologists over the last fifteen years, culminating in a Summer Archaeology Program that draws together Archaeology students and Tribal members from the Amah Mutsun and other partnering Tribes, in a collaborative learning and field work project.

Speakers:

Amah Mutsun Tribal Members, Gabriel Pineida & Elizabeth Rodriguez, Cameron Dakota-Chow Garcia (Chalon Ohlone-Esselen, Zacateco), Amah Mutsun Land Trust Cultural Resources Program Manager, Alec Apodaca, and Gabe Sanchez, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Oregon.

For further reading / listening:

Collaborative Archaeology Field Schools: Perspectives from the Central California Coast, Gabriel Sanchez & Alec Apodaca, 2026.

2025 Summer Internship Program: Collaborative Archaeology, Heritage, and Cultural Landscapes

Recent Collaborative Archaeological Fieldwork on the Santa Cruz Coast

California Archaeology, Volume 5, Issue 2 (2013) - Special journal examining the collaborative work done by California State Parks, UC Berkeley Archaeology Department, and members of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band.

You can listen to our previous episodes about the historic problems in Archaeology at these links:

s02e02: Salvage Anthropology "A Nasty Business"

s02e03: The Legacy of Kroeber, Ishi, & UC Berkeley

This episode includes an interview with Tony Platt, author of The Scandal of Cal: Land Grabs, White Supremacy, and Miseducation at UC Berkeley.

Dr. Platt is the author of thirteen books and 150 essays and articles on race, inequality, and social justice in American history, among them Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States; Bloodlines: Recovering Hitler’s Nuremberg Laws, from Patton’s Trophy to Public Memorial; and The Child Savers: The Invention of Delinquency.

In this interview he also discusses the book he wrote prior to this one, Grave Matters: The Controversy over Excavating California’s Buried Indigenous Past, which explores the Indigenous led fight to protect burial sites up in Humboldt County in the 1970s and 80s. We encourage you to check out both books.

You can find more about Dr. Platt's work on these topics in the following articles:

"A Top UC Berkeley Professor Taught With Remains That May Include Dozens of Native Americans," ProPublica, March 5, 2023.

The Repatriation Project: The Delayed Return of Native Remains

The Repatriation Project: NAGPRA Database

For more on the history of UC Berkeley and Alfred Kroeber, give a listen to our podcast episode on these topics:

s02e03: The Legacy of Kroeber, Ishi, & UC Berkeley

On NAGPRA and Repatriation, listen to:

s02e04: "You Have Disturbed Our Ancestors" (NAGPRA p.I)

s02e05: "Bury Them with Dignity" (NAGPRA p. II)

s02e06: "This Work Has to be Done" (NAGPRA p.III)

Audio editing: Daniel Stonebloom

Interview: Martin Rizzo-Martinez

Music: G. Gonzales

"Chumash Uprising" logo artwork: John Jota Leaños