Seeking ways to give back.
ArchaeoSoft believes that we can improve archaeology by developing tools for, and with, First Nations to engage with archaeology. We recognize that archaeology represents a risk to Indigenous culture and control must rest more fully with living descendants. Through asking Indigenous rightsholders, ‘what do you want from a software designed to improve archaeology?’ we hope to gain First Nations input not just into the software design but also into how archaeology is done.
Offering Value and Building Trust
We know that, as archaeologists, we need to do better. We are designing tools meant to bring down the structures that have kept Indigenous voices out of archaeology in the past.
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STRATUM's goals to create value for Indigenous communities are:​
1
To bring Indigenous languages and values into archaeological field work to promote Two-Eyed Seeing for both archaeologists and Indigenous rights-holders;
2
To increase transparency and communication of results among rightsholders and stakeholders, including First Nations, regulatory bodies, and archaeologists;
3
To make the profession of archaeology more accessible for Indigenous community members by designing a software that is intuitive and teaches archaeology as it is used.
We are working on building trust and being trustworthy allies to Indigenous communities. Here's how.
Indigenous Engagement
We have hired a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Alec McLellan, to conduct a study of what Indigenous people feel about archaeology.
We create mobile software that fits the needs of Indigenous communities collecting data for their own purposes for free.
We are committed to creating a scholarship for Indigenous archaeoloogists to conduct their research.
We offer our software to Indigenous-led projects to better understand how we can add value to Indigenous customers.
How can archaeologists address Indigenous concerns? We can start by listening.
When we founded ArchaeoSoft, we committed to do no harm. This meant talking to Indigenous communities and organizations at every opportunity. It also meant gathering the kind of data that would help us understand the concerns of Indigenous people around archaeological practice. As part of this ongoing study, we have released our first report on Indigenous perspectives on archaeology.
Read our report:
What's missing? We want to know.
We are committed to hearing the voices of Indigenous communities and individuals and to implement real change. But we need your help.