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Decolonizing Ludlow: A Study in Participatory Archaeology

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Abstract

Anthropology and museum scholarship has benefited from using decolonizing methodologies. Professionals practicing a decolonizing methodology have recognized their historic roles in creating and perpetuating imperialist epistemologies and have actively worked to disengage from this practice and shift their approaches. However, archaeologists in industrial contexts have not generally engaged in research methodologies that utilize a decolonizing approach, even when the historical contexts suggest these methodologies may be appropriate. This paper illustrates the value in utilizing decolonizing methodologies in appropriate industrial contexts by focusing on the work of the Colorado Coalfield War Archaeology Project and the Ludlow Centennial Commemoration Commission.

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Acknowledgments

I extend a special thank you to the United Mine Workers of America, in particular Robert (Bob) Butero and Mike and Yolanda Romero, for allowing and supporting the archaeological and scholarly work at the Ludlow Massacre Site. History Colorado State Historical Fund funded the Colorado Coalfield War Archaeology Project between 1997 and 2002. I wish to acknowledge Dean Saitta, Randall McGuire, Phillip Duke, Mark Walker, Paul Reckner, and the many wonderful colleagues I worked with as part of the Ludlow Collective for their vision and thoughtful scholarship. I want to thank Fawn-Amber Montoya, Dawn DiPrince, Robert Butero, Thomas Andrews, Jonathan Rees, Maria Sanchez-Tucker, William Convery, Victoria Miller, Adam Morgan, Dean Saitta, and Josephine Jones for their tireless work on the Ludlow Centennial Commemoration Commission.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO, 80918, USA

    Karin Larkin

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Larkin, K. Decolonizing Ludlow: A Study in Participatory Archaeology. Int J Histor Archaeol 24, 156–182 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-019-00507-w

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