IAIS' Annual Archaeology Roundtable

In the twenty-first century, IAIS has held an annual Roundtable on primarily archaeological topics, and current and future Roundtables will expand this focus to include contemporary Indigenous issues, futures, and education for non-Indigenous museum visiters.

These Roundtables have promoted rich scholarly debate between Indigenous (including speakers from local and eastern regional tribes; the Narragansett Indian Tribe, Abenaki Nation, Mohegan Tribe, Lumbee Tribe) and non-Indigenous educators, experts, scholars, community members, and cultural leaders on local landscapes and regional change through time.

Our Roundtables have covered topics from the harms of pseudoscience in archaeology to decolonization of museums. Our Roundtables have resulted in a number of publications including, Decolonizing New England Archaeology and Museum Studies: The Benefits of Multiple Perspectives for Enriching our American Histories and Improving Public Education (U of Arizona Press, forthcoming).

Previous IAIS' Roundtables

2023-2024: Archaeology of Food, Food Sovereignty, and Ecology
2021: Native American Communities and Archaeology: Past, Present, and Future
2020: Martians, Atlantians, and Lost Tribes: Pseudoarchaeology and its impact on Native American Studies
2019: Recent Discoveries in Connecticut Archaeology: New Light on Old HIstories 
2018: The Benefits of Multiple Perspectives for Interpreting Our Local Histories: Decolonizing New England Archaeology and Museum Studies (Forthcoming book in 2025) 
2017: Our Hidden Landscapes: Native American Stone Ceremonial Sites in the North American East

This roundtable resulted in a book titled Our Hidden Landscapes: Indigenous Stone Ceremonial Sites in the Northeast by Lucianne Lavin and Elaine Thomas

2016: Early Encounters: Dutch Indigenous Relations in 17th Century Northeastern North America
This roundtable resulted in a book titled Dutch Indigenous Relations in 17th Century Northeastern North America by Lucianne Lavin and Elaine Thomas
2015: After the Glacier: The First Peopling of the Northeast
2014: Stone Cultural Feature and Ceremonial Landscapes
2013: Reservation Archaeology
2012: Commerce Native American Style: Trade, Gift, Exchange and the Spiritual
2011: Baubles, Bangles, and Bright Shiny Beads: Wampum in Native American