Activist Anthropology with the Haudenosaunee

Theoretical and Practical Insights from the Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign

in Anthropology in Action
Author:
Brooke Hansen Ithaca College kbhansen@hawaii.edu

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Jack Rossen University of Hawai`i at Hilo jrossen@hawaii.edu

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Abstract

As participants in the Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign, we explore our experiences as allies and activist anthropologists in a collaborative venture that involved participants from Native nations, academia and local communities. The campaign included local, regional and international events aimed at re-enlivening a 400-year-old treaty espousing mutual respect and balance between Europeans and the Haudenosaunee. The highlight of the symbolic renewing of the treaty culminated in a journey down the Hudson River with Native and non-Native paddlers embodying an ally relationship as they paddled side by side and were followed by ground crews, the media and thousands of onlookers. The campaign, challenged by some anthropologists as being based on a ‘fake’ treaty, demonstrated the successful and dynamic components of a multicultural movement. It inspired us to reflect on the current state of activist anthropology and see the intersections with decolonisation theories, indigenous anthropology and pedagogies of engagement.

Contributor Notes

Brooke Hansen was an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Ithaca College until 2016. She is a cultural and medical anthropologist who has worked with indigenous peoples for over two decades in New York and Hawai`i. She co-founded the Native American Studies Program at Ithaca College with Jack Rossen and has collaborated with the Haudenosaunee on a variety of projects related to cultural revitalisation, education and repatriation of land since the late 1990s. E-mail: kbhansen@hawaii.edu

Jack Rossen was a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Ithaca College before joining the Department of Anthropology and Heritage Management Program at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo in August 2016. His archaeological work has spanned Peru, Argentina, the Ohio Valley, Hawai`i and Central New York with a focus on archaeobotany, indigenous archaeology and the connection of archaeology to current revitalisation initiatives. E-mail: jrossen@ithaca.edu

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