Format: Paper presentations with discussion
Convenors:
Robyn Smith, Historian, Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory, robyn.smith@cdu.edu.au
John M. Chenoweth, University of Michigan, Dearborn, USA, jmchenow@umich.edu
This session explores the history and heritage of repression, genocide, violence and massacre as a political tool wielded by dominant regimes throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and the use of original archives, mnemonic devices, material culture and other evidence to challenge and neutralise the dominant narratives established, maintained and perpetuated to overlook and overwrite this heritage. Contributions may include anthropology, archaeology, historiography, psychology, sociology and allied disciplines to explore a wide range of themes, including but not limited to: abduction and sexual slavery; colonial collusion; digital humanities; genocide; memory and memorialisation; grass roots movements, military and paramilitary persuasion; small wars and tactical warfare; plausible deniability; political accountability, conflicts, strategy and manipulation; remoteness, and the ease of concealment; and like matters.
Papers:
Remembering the ‘Massacre’ of the River Raisin, Michigan, USA
John M. Chenoweth, University of Michigan, Dearborn, USA
This paper considers the War of 1812 Battles of the River Raisin, in Michigan, USA, the events sometimes termed the ‘Massacre of the River Raisin’, and the project of memorialising and studying those events. The site, settled by French-descended Detroiters in the 1780s, existed at the nexus of national, religious, and colonial contacts and conflicts. Archaeological research at the site by my students has been ongoing since 2019. The battles were central to the war and the young nation’s development, but the third day of violence—the killing of wounded US prisoners by Native allies of the British—is the feature most remembered. It was explicitly cited as a justification for the forced dispossession and relocation of Native peoples. Since events at this site were key to a misrepresentation of Native peoples that produced real, concrete harms, research at the site and evidence of the actual events here would provide important context. Moreover, in an increasingly politically divided USA, archaeological research at the site offers a rare opportunity for communication. However, this research must also face the pitfalls of unintentionally perpetuating inaccurate dominant narratives.
‘Reflecting’ the Past of DO-CODI/SP: Archaeology and Disappeared Stories
Andrés Zarankin, Dep de Antropologia e Arqueologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil
Claudia Plens, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil
Aline Carvalho, Unicamp (State University of Campinas), Brazil
Fernanda Lima, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil
Deborah Neves, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil
This presentation examines the Doi-Codi in São Paulo, one of the main centres of repression during the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985), based on an analysis of its materiality and recent archaeological research carried out at the site. The paper highlights the importance of preserving this space as a place of memory, essential for the promotion of justice and human rights education. The archaeological research at the site strengthens the commitment to historical memory, underscoring the urgency of revisiting the past to confront contemporary threats to democracy. In addition, the article addresses the challenges in creating a memorial at Doi-Codi, reflecting on the political and social resistance to recognising and confronting this dark period in Brazilian history.
Fragmented Territories: Archaeology as a Link Between the Past and the Present
Cláudia Regina Plens, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil
Paulo Sergio Delgado, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil
This presentation will focus on the systematic violence during Brazil’s Civil-Military Dictatorship (1964-1985), particularly affecting the Xavante ethnicity in Mato Grosso and their territory of Marãiwatsédé. The Xavante suffered significant impacts from disease introduced by non-Indigenous populations and were subsequently displaced from their lands, which became the world’s largest farm at that time. Their rights were severely violated through enslavement, forced displacement, and a measles epidemic that killed over 80 individuals in just two days. Although a small portion of their lands was recovered during ECO92, this was accompanied by ongoing conflicts regarding land ownership, involving poor settlers, agribusiness entrepreneurs, local politicians, and judicial authorities. Our presentation aims to explore contemporary issues arising from archaeological research, specifically concerning the preservation of memory and archaeological sites associated with the Xavante. Community interviews revealed concerns about 14 ancient villages that remain outside demarcated lands and are currently controlled by farmers. This discussion seeks to deepen the understanding of the dictatorship’s lasting effects on Indigenous peoples and explore ways to protect the Xavante’s cultural and historical heritage, thereby supporting their claims for justice and territorial recognition.
The Killing Times: Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia
Dr Robyn Smith, Charles Darwin University, Australia
Australia’s colonial frontier massacres are referred to by Aboriginal people as ‘the killing times’, which began with colonisation in 1770 and endured until beyond 1930. They have been the subject of an extensive study, which revealed not only the ugly underbelly of settler colonialism but the practices of concealing evidence and maintaining codes of silence in the aftermath. What emerged was evidence of sustained, systemic sexual, paramilitary and civilian violence. The number of civic honours bestowed upon the perpetrators, including place names, is largely unknown and evidence of bureaucratic whitewashing. This presentation will provide an overview of colonial frontier massacres and examples of place names honouring perpetrators in the Northern Territory.
Reclaiming Memory: Youth Art, Visual Heritage Performance and Memory Activism in the Nigeria-Biafra War
Stanley Jachike Onyemechalu, Cambridge Heritage Research Centre, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, UK
This presentation explores how artistic expression functions as a mnemonic device and counter-narrative to state-sponsored cultural amnesia. Focusing on the Nigeria-Biafra War (1967-1970), the study examines a youth-focused narrative art contest organised by the Legacies of Biafra Heritage Project (LBHP) in southeastern Nigeria. In light of government policies suppressing the war history – including the disruption of history instruction in secondary schools – the LBHP invited participants aged 16–35 to create paintings, poetry, and short essays that reimagine and memorialise the war’s traumatic legacies. Through qualitative analysis, the study reveals how grassroots, youth-led initiatives serve as alternative forms of material culture and mnemonic practices, challenging the dominant narratives imposed by state repression. By integrating elements of visual heritage performance and intergenerational dialogue, the project not only documents intergenerational memory transfer in the absence of formal history education but also demonstrates how art can empower communities to reclaim and reinterpret their past. This work contributes to interdisciplinary discussions on grassroots heritage and memory activism in post-conflict contexts. Ultimately, the findings illustrate that artistic expressions reflect and shape a community’s collective memory, while offering innovative pathways for collective memory making in the face of historical suppression.
Bearing Witness in the Present, for the Future: Towards an Archaeology of Trauma
Charlotte Feakins, The University of Sydney, Australia
Over the past 25 years, various concepts related to human suffering, conflict, and death have emerged and expanded within archaeology and heritage studies. As the global discourse on ‘trauma and truth-telling’ gains momentum, there has been a marked increase in the recognition of archaeology and heritage connected to trauma, suffering, and tragedy. Yet, despite the breadth of research in this field, psychological trauma has remained largely unexamined in both archaeology and heritage studies.
In this interdisciplinary paper, I explore three key questions: What is trauma? What is the relationship between trauma, heritage, and archaeology? And what does it mean to be trauma-informed? I introduce the concept of trauma-informed heritage (TIH) and propose that heritage connected to traumatic events can be understood as trauma-heritage (TH). These concepts help to illuminate the complex, multi-scalar nature of archaeology and heritage associated with trauma. Building on this framework, I ask: How can interpreting trauma in the archaeological record deepen our understanding of contemporary trauma, resilience, and post-traumatic growth?