NATIVE-AMERICANS AND THE PRACTICE OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeologists are in the midst of restructuring their relationship wi th Native Americans. The legal, political, social, and intellectual ra mifications of this process are reviewed to examine the fundamental ch anges occurring in the way archaeology is conducted in the Americas. M uch of the impetus for this change resulted from the criticism of arch aeology by Native Americans, which led to passage of the Native Americ an Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). NAGPRA has indelibly changed how archaeologists will work in the United States. The issues raised by Native Americans about why and how archaeological research is conducted, however, go beyond NAGPRA to the paradigmatic basis of archaeology. Archaeologists will have new opportunities avail able to them if they work in partnership with Native Americans in stud ying the rich archaeological record in the Americas.