Ph.D., Indiana University
Assistant Professor
Archaeology
Research Interests
Indigenous archaeology, rock art, gender, archaeological ethics, community-engaged research practices, landscape, traditional ecological knowledge, Northwest Plains
Affiliations
Affiliate Faculty, Program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Affiliate Faculty, Center for Native American Research and Collaboration
Current Research
I am an Indigenous archaeologist (enrolled member, Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians) focused on Indigenous women’s relationships to rock art in the Northwest Plains. I am broadly interested in reclaiming cultural heritage with, by, and for Indigenous and descendent communities.
I have done community-based archaeological fieldwork in Spain, Peru, and Japan, as well as in the United States, including Alaska, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Indiana.
My current research is focused on Lakota women’s relationship to rock art, and how those images are related to cultural and environmental landscapes, with a particular interest in images related to elk (Cervus canadensis). Taking a diachronic approach, my research connects rock art images created in the past to contemporary landscapes and ceremonies in the present. My work is grounded in methods of Indigenous archaeology and community-based research practices. Additionally, I utilize ethnographic interviews, cultural mapping, ethnobotanical and TEK methods, and photography. I am also passionate about contemporary Native American art (beadwork), activism, and decolonization efforts within anthropology.
Courses
- Anth 101: Introduction to Anthropology
- ANTH 201: Art and Society
- ANTH 591: Indigenous Research Methods and Knowledge
Selected Publications
- 2024. Van Alst, Emily C. and Carlton Q. Gover. “Indigenizing Archaeology: Applying Theory into Practice”
(This link leads to an external website that is not hosted by the university. The views and content expressed are those of the faculty member or group and do not represent the official positions or policies of the university.)
Edited Volume. University of Florida Press. (Open Access at above link.) - 2024. Van Alst, Emily C. More than art, other than human: Recognizing rock art as Indigenous knowledge in Archaeological Review from Cambridge.
- 2023. Van Alst, Emily C. and Pyburn, K. Anne. Ethics versus Ethical Codes in The Oxford Handbook of Global Indigenous Archaeologies. Oxford University Press.
- 2023. Van Alst, Emily C. (Re)writing and (Re)beading: Understanding Indigenous Women’s Roles in the Creation of Indigenous Futurisms in The Routledge Handbook of CoFuturisms. Routledge, New York.
