In celebration of International Archaeology Day on October 16th, the AAA would like to put a spotlight on some of our Aussie archaeologists working internationally.

Dr Kelly Pollard
Lecturer - Aboriginal Futures, Charles Darwin University

Question 1: When/How did you become interested in archaeology?

I excelled at history in secondary school and after school I worked with other Aboriginal people in management of Aboriginal heritage in New South Wale. I went to uni and studied an undergraduate degree in archaeology and anthropology at the Australian National University where there was a small cohort of Indigenous students studying the same degree under the professor of the department, Isabel McBryde.

Question 2: What is your primary research interest?

Indigenous philosophies of knowledge making in archaeology and the diversity of Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies that will transform teaching pedagogy, theory, and practice. Indigenous methodologies are distinctive and relatively new to archaeology in Australia. Indigenous philosophies and values underwrite the methodologies Indigenous people prefer to do research with because they aim to emancipate the aspirations and priorities of Indigenous people in any area of research from colonial frameworks of knowing about Indigenous people.

Question 3: Where do you do your field research?

I am based in the Northern Territory of Australia where I have more than twenty years' experience working with Aboriginal people in remote, rural and urban communities after working across public, statutory, and higher education and research sectors. I have an ongoing working relationship with Larrakia people in Darwin with whom I worked with during my PhD candidature which examined the European invasion of the Darwin region and how Larrakia ancestors and descendants survived to perpetuate a resilient identity. My current field research interests in archaeology extend across the Northern Territory into South Australia.

Question 4: What do you get most excited about in terms of your research?

Everything. Doing research is the best job in life, but I am motivated to empower other Indigenous people in my field and encourage them to study at university and achieve their own personal self-determination.