Three sessions for Black and Racialized archaeologists at Canadian Archaeological Association meetings

Congratulations to Dr Neha Gupta for organizing and participating in three conference sessions to engage and promote Black and racialized archaeologists in Canada.

Neha Gupta organized, and participated in three sessions at the Canadian Archaeological Association meetings, held in May 2024, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The sessions focused on bringing together Black and Racialized archaeologists to open conversation on their experiences, interests, hopes and visions for archaeology and heritage in the Canadian context.

The first session was a well-attended meet-and-greet and luncheon for Black and racialized archaeologists to chat. The second session, ‘Engaging Black and Racialized Descendant Communities with Archaeology and Heritage Projects’ brought together scholars working with descent communities across Canada and the United States. The final session opened discussion on challenges and opportunities to support Black and racialized archaeologists-in-training, in cultural resource management (CRM) and in academia. These sessions are the basis for a journal article on perspectives and voices of Black and racialized archaeologists in Canadian archaeology, which will be published in the Journal of Canadian Archaeology in fall 2024.