Toronto, ON
May 23, 2025 — As the world grapples with the ongoing consequences of colonial violence and emerging efforts to target minority identities and resources, Dr. Lindsay Martel Montgomery, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto, is leading a profound shift in how archaeology is practiced, taught, and understood. Her pioneering work—rooted in collaboration with Indigenous and descendant communities—challenges long-held assumptions about ownership, authority, and the ethical obligations of archaeologists.
In a discipline traditionally dominated by Western frameworks and extractive methodologies, Dr. Montgomery’s research and fieldwork represent a transformative approach that places Indigenous knowledge systems, community priorities, and accountability at the center. Her contributions are now regarded as a global model for what ethical, inclusive, and decolonial archaeology can—and should—look like in the 21st century.
Decolonizing Archaeology from the Ground Up
For generations, archaeology was a tool of empire: extracting artifacts, disrupting sacred sites, and interpreting Indigenous pasts through Eurocentric lenses. Dr. Montgomery has spent more than a decade challenging this history and charting a new course. She contends that archaeology must not only acknowledge its colonial foundations but actively work to dismantle them.
Through her collaboration with the Picuris Pueblo in New Mexico, Dr. Montgomery has built the Picuris Pueblo Archaeological Research Project (PPARP)—a community-centered initiative that rejects traditional hierarchies of academic research. Rather than imposing research questions from outside, the project is grounded in the Pueblo’s cultural protocols and guided by the priorities of the community. It is an ongoing testament to how archaeology can function as a tool of empowerment rather than dispossession.
This fieldwork model is not only participatory—it is reparative. By embracing Indigenous sovereignty and fostering long-term partnerships, Dr. Montgomery demonstrates that archaeological knowledge should not be extracted and exported but co-created and locally governed.
Centering Indigenous Data Sovereignty
One of the most urgent ethical issues in contemporary archaeological practice is the question of who owns the data. For decades, artifacts, maps, and findings from Indigenous lands have been stored in distant museums and universities, cut off from the communities to which they belong. Dr. Montgomery is working to change that.
She is a leading advocate for Indigenous data sovereignty: the right of Indigenous Peoples to control the collection, ownership, access, and use of their cultural data. This includes not only physical objects but also oral histories, digital records, and interpretative outputs. In presentations at the Computer Applications in Archaeology and the Society for American Archaeology conferences, she has argued that embedding data sovereignty into every stage of the research process—from grant writing to dissemination—is a non-negotiable ethical obligation.
Rather than treating data as academic property, Dr. Montgomery supports models where findings are housed in community archives, subject to local governance, and used to further the goals identified by the communities themselves. This approach builds transparency, trust, and reciprocity—values long absent from mainstream archaeological practice.
Trauma-Informed, Culturally Humble Research
Beyond technical reforms, Dr. Montgomery is advocating for a more human-centered and emotionally intelligent archaeology. In partnership with Elizabeth Montgomery, a registered social worker and mental health professional, she has developed trauma-informed frameworks for archaeological work, particularly as it relates to the legacy of residential schools in North America.
Their collaborative presentations address how archaeological sites associated with violence, forced displacement, or assimilation carry profound emotional weight. Rather than approaching these sites with scientific detachment, Dr. Montgomery calls for methodologies that center survivor voices, acknowledge intergenerational trauma, and facilitate healing. Her culturally humble approach is rooted in consent, care, and the belief that researchers have a responsibility not just to knowledge, but to people.
Influencing Institutional Reform and Pedagogy
As an academic, Dr. Montgomery’s impact extends far beyond the field. At the University of Toronto, she is actively involved in curriculum reform, faculty diversification, and mentorship that reflects anti-colonial principles. She challenges students to consider the ethical dimensions of their work from the outset and encourages future archaeologists to build equitable relationships with communities from day one.
Through courses like “Indigenous Archaeologies,” she introduces critical frameworks that interrogate power dynamics, systemic racism, and the politics of heritage management. Her students are not just taught how to excavate—they are taught how to listen, collaborate, and imagine new futures for archaeology.
This pedagogical approach is preparing a generation of scholars to carry forward the mantle of ethical research grounded in reclamation and anti-colonial praxis. It is also pushing institutions to re-evaluate their own complicity in colonial structures and commit to meaningful change.
International Recognition and Scholarly Impact
Dr. Lindsay Martel Montgomery’s work has gained recognition across North America and internationally. She has secured major research grants from organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Her publications—including contributions to American Antiquity, American Anthropologist, and American Indian Quarterly—explore topics such as social justice, the history of Indian education, and the decolonization of knowledge.
In her recent chapter in Archaeology, Heritage, and Radical Populism, Dr. Montgomery critiques how both liberal and conservative frameworks often fail to reckon with the structural violence of colonialism. She argues for what she calls “abolitionist archaeology”—an approach that not only includes marginalized voices but actively dismantles the systems that exclude them.
Her work is widely cited and increasingly used in international forums, conferences, and graduate syllabi. Scholars from around the world are looking to Dr. Montgomery’s model as an example of how to balance rigorous research with social responsibility.
A Vision for Global Ethical Practice
The stakes of this work are not limited to North America. Around the world, Indigenous and descendant communities are reclaiming their histories, challenging academic gatekeeping, and demanding new models of collaboration. Dr. Montgomery’s approach—rooted in care, humility, and justice—offers a template for how scholars can engage ethically with communities across diverse cultural and political contexts.
Whether working with descendant communities in the field , teaching at the University of Toronto, or presenting at international conferences, Dr. Montgomery’s message is consistent: archaeology must move beyond its extractive, colonial past and become a practice of accountability, relationship, and shared authority.
As global conversations around equity and decolonization grow louder, her work resonates across disciplines. By emphasizing the responsibilities that come with academic privilege, Dr. Montgomery exemplifies how scholars can be allies, advocates, and co-creators in the pursuit of historical justice.
Final Reflections
Dr. Lindsay Montgomery’s contributions represent a seismic shift in the field of archaeology. She has not only exposed the discipline’s colonial entanglements but has also offered concrete, community-driven alternatives for how it can evolve. Through her research, mentorship, and advocacy, she is setting a new global standard—one in which ethics are not peripheral but foundational.
Her call to action is clear: “Decolonization requires real, material changes to how we teach, research, and engage with the past. Indigenous and descendant communities can no longer just be given a seat at the heritage table—they need to be at the front of the boardroom.”
As institutions, funders, and scholars grapple with how to make archaeology more just and inclusive, Dr. Montgomery’s work offers both inspiration and instruction. It is not merely a critique—it is a roadmap toward a future where archaeology serves people, not power.