Emily Benson

MA Candidate, Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University 

Emily is a Master’s student in the Department of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University. She is interested in the relations between the discipline of archaeology and Indigenous peoples in Canada, community-based participatory research methods and decolonizing methodologies in archaeology. Her MA research focuses on relations and practices in Cultural Resource Management (CRM) archaeology in British Columbia, Canada, and will examine the perspectives and concerns of various stakeholders regarding archaeological heritage management in CRM settings. She is interested in examining the contexts in which conflicts over cultural heritage occur, and how they might be avoided in the future. Emily hopes that this research will contribute to broader discussions on how the discipline of archaeology can engage in more respectful relationships with descendant communities and more respectful practices regarding Indigenous heritage sites. Her senior supervisor is Dr. George Nicholas.

Emily has a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Victoria, and has experience doing archaeological fieldwork on southern and western Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and northwestern British Columbia.