Ep 44 Rewriting the History of The Americas: Decolonizing Archaeology

25 years after finding herself divorced, a single mom of three kids with a truck, 26 cents, and a grade education, Dr. Paulette Steeves, Cree Métis author of "The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere", walked across the stage receiving her PhD with honours. She had already been told of her legacy that would shed truth on Indigenous history by an Elder at the time of her divorce, but it was in that moment, she finally understood what it was: to rewrite the history of The Americas.

Through her PhD, Dr. Steeves had the opportunity to conduct research on archaeology sites older than 10,000 years, called Pleistocene Age sites, to debunk the standard view in Archaeology that Indigenous people of The Americas had only been here for 10,000 or 11,000 years -- and that they came from Asia.

"It was a way that Archaeology erased Indigenous people in The Americas," Dr. Steeves says, combatting "Academic Suicide" that many others in her field faced for publishing research on sites that were older than 11,000 or 12,000 years and pushed back on that aracheological narrative.

Her book, "The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere", offers extensive research debunking this narrative, bringing truth to Indigenous history and identity. The book took over 13 years to write, having to study hundreds of records and archaeological sites that date from 11,200 to 200,000 years and dive into the paleo-mammal record to study human migration patterns between the Eastern and Western hemisphere. Her extensive database and mapping across almost 360 publications provides the evidence to support people were here 11 or 12,000 years ago, challenging the dominant colonial-based 100 year old narrative that suggests Indigenous people were here for only 3,000 years. Her book has also given hope to many Indigenous people across The Americas, just as The Elder had told her many years before.

In this episode, Dr. Steeves invites us to decolonize our minds, think critically, and challenge the long history of colonization, including knowledge, reminding us that much what we have been taught in the past has been based on a lot of colonial bias. Beyond that, we need to disprove that knowledge, publish on that, and help to educate people.

"When you pushback on any area, you push back on bias, racism, and discrimination," she says. "You help people to become informed to address that. You make the world a better place for all."

Dr. Steeves book, "The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere", was published by University of Nebraska Press here: https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9781496202178/the-indigenous-paleolithic-of-the-western-hemisphere/

Be welcome to learn more about Dr. Steeves' work here: https://www.tipdba.ca/

Be invited to stay in touch with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessaferlaino or vanessaferlaino.com

Watch this full episode on Youtube at https://youtu.be/55Qg5R16Il8

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