Theses and Dissertations Collection

This thesis discusses the relationships of misplaced ancestors of perceived African ancestry and the Muscogee Nation's ancestral lands in Middle Georgia. These ancestors were excavated from Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (OMNHP) almost 90 years ago (1930s and 1940s) in what is still considered the largest archaeological dig in U.S. history. They presently exist in a state of flux as they are held within the Smithsonian complex, considered unworthy of return for reburial. This thesis follows their afterlife in archives across three institutions across these 90 years that they have been disturbed from their journey. The objective here is to ask who and by what process can we investigate and decide contested identities of people who cannot self-advocate and how can we incorporate descendant-stakeholder oral histories and community wishes into how these misplaced ancestors are memorialized and treated? I develop their stories by utilizing the archaeological record, the documentary archive, and oral histories from descendant and stakeholder communities to better inform how archaeologists may begin to understand these people in an effort to repatriate people who are not so easily identifiable. In this way, the project makes efforts to decolonize the field of archaeology and the Academy as a whole.