In and Out of Place

prof. Lukas Rieppel (Brown University)

During the second half of the 19th century, the US Federal Government dispatched legions of survey scientists to map the location and abundance of valuable resources in the Missouri watershed. Their efforts were explicitly designed to create an economic incentive for settlers to colonize Lakotan treaty lands. In addition, survey scientists also unearthed countless prehistoric fossils in the White River Badlands, which were then accessioned to the “permanent collections” of museums all over the world. As they journeyed outside of Lakotan treaty lands, these fossils were stripped of their original meanings and inserted into a teleological narrative about the evolutionary history of life on earth. This presentation argues that by composing an Earth history that was billed as North America’s one true creation story, survey geologists effectively sought to assert mastery over hotly contested land. In addition, it also sketches preliminary ideas for a new kind of exhibit featuring contemporary Lakotan artists alongside the material remains of prehistoric animals as a case study for how to interpret fossils from tribal lands.