Anthropological Advocacy in Historical Perspective: The Case of Anthropologists and Virginia Indians

Abstract

This article examines the historical emergence of anthropological advocacy as a conscious pursuit through an examination of the historical activities of anthropologists working with American Indians in Virginia. Although anthropologists working with these peoples have been relatively few—in part due to the small indigenous population in the state—their contributions have been, and continue to be, significant. On the one hand, anthropological work among Virginia Indians was cultivated in a climate of skewed race relations and politics, thereby inviting a tradition of advocacy among anthropologists working on behalf of indigenous rights in the state. Thus, while there has always been an anthropological tradition emphasizing local contexts among Virginia Indians, anthropologists working with these groups in recent years have combined applied anthropology and advocacy to form creative models for collaborative research and ethnography. In examining the demographic and political context in which anthropologists...