BECOMING A WIRADJURI ARCHAEOLOGIST

In this chapter, Kellie Pollard describes a background of Aboriginal activism and critique as the precursor that hastened the decolonization of the discipline in that country and the recognition of the importance of building genuine relationships with Indigenous peoples in Archaeology. Reflecting on why she became an archaeologist in Australia, we learn that a passion for learning history was foremost. Kellie hints at the complexity of being an Aboriginal archaeologist and the politics of loyalty in practice. People who identify as Aboriginal and an archaeologist in Australia are few, especially at the PhD level, and in Australia, when Indigenous peoples go to university to gain a tertiary qualification, cultural priorities explain why it can take as long as ten years to graduate. Kellie is driven to change the ways of knowing (epistemology), being (ontology), and doing (axiology) research about ancestors in culturally appropriate ways according to Indigenous peoples in archaeological theory, method, and practice.