Bill Angelbeck
Primary tabs
Research Interests
- Prehistoric archaeology
- Ethnohistory
- Ethnography
- Indigenous people
- Oral history
- Heritage
- Archaeology
- Archaeological Theory
- Cultural Heritage
- Ethnography
- Culture
Other Scholars in Anthropology
Academic Introduction
PhD (University of British Columbia)
MA (University of Missouri)
BA (Missouri State University)
Douglas College Faculty member since 2013
I am an archaeologist and anthropologist who focuses on cultures of Salishan peoples of the Northwest Coast and Interior. My doctoral research focused on the archaeological history of warfare in the Coast Salish area, consisting of a survey and testing at defensive sites, such as palisaded villages, trench-embankment fortifications, and hidden refuges. I have worked throughout the Northwest on academic and applied projects, concerning archaeology, ethnography, and ethnohistory. My interests include archaeological theory, sociopolitical organization, religion, ideation, and heritage. I also have an interest in collaborative practices, in which archaeological research is designed and pursued in conjunction with First Nations. In recent years, I’ve engaged in projects with Lil’wat Nation and Kanaka Bar Indian Band of B.C., and the Upper Skagit Tribe of Washington state.
Currently, I am conducting archaeological investigations in Lil’wat traditional territory, with Johnny Jones of Lil’wat Nation’s Land and Resources Department. We have been surface mapping ancestral villages throughout their traditional territory, and acquiring radiocarbon dates to better understand the antiquity of these sites to add support to their oral histories. For the last few summer seasons, we have brought along Douglas College student assistants and volunteers to these excavations, working alongside Lil’wat community members.
Recent Citations for Bill Angelbeck
- "Coyote Broke the Dams": Power, reciprocity, and conflict in Fish Weir narratives and implications for traditional and contemporary fisheries.
- Interpreting the dialectic of sociopolitical tensions in the archaeological past: implications of an anarchist perspective for Iron Age societies
- "Flatten the enemy", "Fighting with Property, "Interest-Bearing Investments": A consideration of Potlatch interpretations with Indigenous views of the gifting ceremony
- Direct Actions and Archaeology: The Lil'wat Peoples Movement to Protect Archaeological Sites.
- Trenches, embankments, and palisades: Terraforming landscapes for defensive fortifications in Coast Salish Territory
- From paradigms to practices: Pursuing horizontal and long-term relationships with Indigenous Peoples for Archaeological Heritage Management
- Anarchism and the archaeology of anarchic societies: Resistance to centralization in the Coast Salish Region of the Pacific Northwest Coast
- The Battle at Maple Bay: The dynamics of Coast Salish political organization through oral histories
