PhD Student Delancey Paden Griffin, an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation from Oklahoma, is an incoming Ph.D. student working under the guidance of Dr. Victor Thompson. Her research focuses on Indigenous Archaeologies in the Southeastern United States, particularly on the intricacies of conducting collaborative archaeology on ancestral land with forcibly removed Tribal Nations. Expanding questions beyond those posed in the context of discrete chronological periods, she aims to incorporate Indigenous Knowledge into interpretations of archaeological data of ancestral Cherokee material culture and landscapes to bridge contemporary Indigenous communities with sites and collections in the deeper past. She is interested in contextualizing collections that have received little attention and engagement from an Indigenous perspective and expanding the historical ecology of ancestral Cherokee territories to include descendants in order to push against boundaries inherent to dominant typologies. Delancey’s work aims to create opportunities to engage with and foster pride in cultural preservation and revitalization through archaeology, especially for Indigenous people who do not reside in ancestral lands. Research Research Areas: Archaeology Research Interests: Indigenous Archaeologies Southeastern Archaeology Indigenous Studies Community-based Archaeology Cherokee Archaeology Historical Ecology Collections-based Research and Stewardship Displacement and Urbanization Education Education: B.A., Archaeology, Columbia University, 2025
