Indigenous Perspectives on the Huhugam. O’Odham communities express a strong interest in the archaeological research that has been and continues to be conducted on their ancestors. The Four Southern Tribes have been formally invited to contribute items to DAHA, both their own archival archaeological reports and articles or manuscripts presenting O’Odham traditional histories that they feel are appropriate to share. Including this much-needed Indigenous perspective will enable DAHA to be more than an archive of professional archaeological excavations; these additional resources will allow researchers to analyze, compare, and synthesize a multi-perspectival account of Huhugam artifacts, data, and histories. In our conception, incorporating Indigenous perspectives entails making critical evaluations of the organization and content of the Archives, as opposed to a mere endorsement of its implementation. Indeed, acknowledging the O’odham right and responsibility for contributing to the intellectual and scholarly discussion on DAHA’s development is integral to their status as sovereign nations with an intrinsic interest in the Huhugam.

Engaging Indigenous Communities. At a June 2015 meeting of the Four Southern Tribes Cultural Resources Working Group (consisting of cultural resource professionals from each of the tribes), PI Kintigh and Ellison had the opportunity to introduce the DAHA project, to invite tribal contributions of archaeological and Indigenous content, to seek tribal guidance regarding the treatment of culturally sensitive images and information, and to seek advice on appropriate next steps for further engagement of their communities. As recommended by the Working Group, we have initiated separate conversations with tribal leaders and representatives working in heritage management for the Four Southern Tribes and the Hopi Tribe. These conversations will continue with the initiation of the grant, so that we can fully incorporate the results into project planning. This effort is led by co-PI David Martínez, an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community and Associate Professor of American Indian Studies at ASU.

In May, 2017 Professor Martínez, along with McManamon and Ellison met Four Southern Tribes Cultural Resources Working Group to continue discussions with these tribal representatives about the project.