Heritage Voices · The Archaeology Podcast Network

Boulder Ethnographic-Education Project: Indigenous Perspectives on Ethnography - Ep 84

·53 min·3 clips

Erica says consent is not "a one time and you're done kind of thing" in Indigenous research.

1. Heritage Voices episode 84 focuses on the Boulder Ethnographic Education Project and Indigenous perspectives on ethnography. 2. Jessica Aquinto hosts Erica Walters, Joseph Gazing-Wolf, and Rashaun Edison, who were directly involved in the Boulder project through Living Heritage Anthropology and related tribal consultation work. 3. The episode asks what Boulder’s ethnographic education work was for: rebuilding relationships, supporting tribal education, and documenting Indigenous connections to Boulder lands. 4. Jessica says her work with the City of Boulder began in 2018 after the Indigenous Peoples Day resolution and the instruction to rename Settlers Park. 5. She says the city reached out to 16 tribes and has worked since 2019 on consultation, relationship repair, and the park’s new name, the People’s Crossing. 6. Jessica explains that tribal nations wanted more public education about their connections to Boulder, so an ethnographic study or cultural landscape study was recommended before educational materials were created. 7. Erica Walters says this project differed from other ethnography because the researchers traveled with Indigenous representatives returning to Boulder rather than going only to the communities themselves. 8. Erica says the logistics mattered, including travel, meals, hotels, and bathrooms, because the work involved bringing people back to a place from which they had been removed. 9. Joseph says Boulder stood out because staff had done personal work on settler colonial history and came ready to hear tribal voices. 10. Rashaun says Boulder accepted criticism and worked with suggestions from Living Heritage and the tribes, which he contrasts with more difficult consultation settings. 11. Joseph says Indigenous research in Boulder felt powerful because people were returning to the land spiritually, historically, and linguistically. 12. Erica says the tribal representatives were generous with knowledge even though the historical context gave them every reason to be guarded. 13. Rashaun says working with elders reminded him of his own grandparents and of the kinship networks that form wherever Native people gather. 14. Jessica adds that Boulder also has work underway on the Four Chambers Poor Farm property and Sand Creek history with the Cheyenne and Arapaho descendant tribes. 15. The guests repeatedly stress that elders are stretched thin, traveling long distances while also carrying office, council, and community responsibilities. 16. Joseph says Tribal Historic Preservation Offices need more money from the Historic Preservation Fund, because tribes are underfunded compared with state offices. 17. Joseph argues that ethical anthropology requires understanding the historical context and the discomfort Indigenous elders face when they enter these institutional settings. 18. Erica says informed consent is not a one-time form and must be revisited, while Joseph says researchers must clearly explain how information will be used and how communities benefit. 19. The tone stays conversational, reflective, and occasionally critical, with the hosts and guests trading stories, practical ethics, and personal examples. 20. Anyone interested in Indigenous consultation, applied anthropology, or Boulder land history would likely get a lot from this episode; listeners wanting a light general chat probably would not.

As heard by us

A thoughtful conversation about respect, protocol, and the human side of ethnographic work.

Heritage Voices turns a project recap into a careful conversation about ethnographic work, respect, trust, and the limits that shape both. It stays concrete, too, with details about tribal protocols and the slow work of earning elders' respect.

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Why you'd press play

Listen if you want Indigenous perspectives on ethnography shaped by trust, respect, and protocol.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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