Research on the sacred place of Point Conception reveals the role of outsiders in creating contemporary Chumash identity and equipping it with the traditions it needs to appear authentic to the public. Among the outsiders involved in this creation, anthropologists have played one of the most crucial roles of all. Those involved are mostly archaeologists and ethnohistorians who have based their actions on a Spicerian model of assimilation vs. persistence, unaware of the sweeping revisions of ethnicity and tradition in ethnology and history. This case exemplifies one way in which anthropology can have unintended consequences, particularly where the past is studied alongside people who claim it as heritage. Anthropology's unfinished business lies in coming to grips with the ethical dilemmas posed by these uses of its product. This will be the extended dance-mix version of our (with Larry Wilcoxon) controversial paper presented earlier this month at the Society for California Archaeology meetings.



Wednesday April 24, 1996, 1-2pm
2052 North Hall

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