Leading archaeology prize in publishing recognizes Chelsey Geralda Armstrong's ancient trail research

Chelsey Geralda Armstrong, an assistant professor in Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Department of Indigenous Studies, and her research collaborators are receiving a prominent award in the field of archaeology for their research efforts to document and protect Indigenous trail systems.

"Liberating Trails and Travel Routes in Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en Territories from the Tyrannies of Heritage Resource Management Regimes," published in American Anthropologist, has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Gordon R. Willey Prize, a leading award for archaeological publishing globally.

Indigenous trail networks have extraordinary historical, cultural, and practical importance; they provide time-tested means for affirming and sustaining individual and communal health, vitality, land-based lifeways, and senses of place and identity. The award-winning paper integrates remote sensing technologies, Wet’suwet’en-Gitxsan knowledge, and archaeological surveys to identify ancient trail networks in British Columbia. Armstrong’s collaborative work continues in the face of ongoing heritage destruction in northern British Columbia. 

The annual prize recognizes the best archaeology article published during the previous three years in American Anthropologist, the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association (AAA). Selected by the AAA’s Archaeology Division, the prize will be presented at the AAA annual meeting in November 2024.