Going into Labor: Native Women and Participation in Capitalism in the American West
Publication Date
1-1-2026
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Historical Archaeology
DOI
10.1007/s41636-026-00631-5
Abstract
Archaeological and ethnohistorical accounts reveal ways in which Native groups experienced the gold rushes to the West, particularly by how they mobilized power through cultural-identity expression and labor relations. Through case studies of Paiute tribes who called the Comstock Lode and Bodie Hills home long before these places contained major boomtowns, archaeologists can examine the ways in which some Indigenous groups experienced the colonialism of capitalism. The research focuses on historical impacts to Paiute traditional lifeways and seasonal rounds, wage-earning strategies, inclusion of mass-produced material culture, and production of goods for supplemental income. It highlights the ways in which agency and power allowed subversion of ideologies critical to Paiute success in capitalism.
Keywords
Capitalism, Gender, Indigenous identity, Labor, Native Americans
Department
Anthropology
Recommended Citation
Charlotte K. Sunseri. "Going into Labor: Native Women and Participation in Capitalism in the American West" Historical Archaeology (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-026-00631-5
