Samantha Gallagher Fladd

Greater collaboration and partnership with Indigenous communities has led to important ethical shifts in archaeological practice in the Southwest United States. Despite these advances, certain voices have continued to be overlooked, specifically those of Indigenous women who are rarely included in collaborations in the region. When combined with the noted issues with women’s representation in the field of archaeology, the lack of questions related to gender expression and the lives and histories of women in the region are unsurprising and concerning. Building on the convening of a working group in February 2025, this workshop would provide a setting to not only ask these questions but center the roles of women in the cultural heritage narratives about the Southwest United States. In particular, understanding women’s roles in care–a topic often undertheorized by archaeologists–of cultures through child-rearing, care of ceremonial materials, care of knowledge, and care of communities. Through a three day workshop in Albuquerque, New Mexico co-organized with Danielle Dominique Lucero, Sarah Oas, Kari Schleher, and Emily Van Alst, workshop participants would explore each of these topics through a lens of gender and women’s experiences and consider how the addition of these topics would alter our current understandings of the historical narratives in the northern Southwest.