Challenging Colonialism

About Challenging Colonialism

Challenging Colonialism amplifies Indigenous perspectives on issues of concern to native Californian communities. It is our intention to create an educational resource where anyone can hear the perspectives of Indigenous peoples in their own words. It is not our intention to further colonize the narrative, or to misrepresent stories that are not our own. The podcast is produced by Martin Rizzo-Martinez, a Professor & Historian, and Daniel Stonebloom, a public school administrator. Our music is by G. Gonzales, and the logo art ("Chumash Revolt") is by Professor John Jota Leaños.

Publisher

Martin Rizzo-Martinez & Daniel Stonebloom

Category

history · science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Feb 2022

Latest episode

2 Feb 2026

Latest episodes

34 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Feb 2026

   s03e05: Interview with Archaeologist Kent Lightfoot

   In our previous episode (https://rss.com/podcasts/challengingcolonialism/2432130/) we explored an example of collaborative, Tribal centered archaeology in looking at the Amah Mutsun Summer Archaeology Program, which collaborated between the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and Archaeology students and professors at the University of Oregon. In this episode we speak with Dr, Kent Lightfoot, recently retired Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught and trained dozens of Archaeologists. Dr. Lightfoot is well known for his advocacy for doing Archaeology that aligns with, and is led by Tribal interests, a departure from the colonial approach to archaeology that we explored in Season 2 (https://rss.com/podcasts/challengingcolonialism/774347/) of our podcast. For further reading: Books: Indians, Missionaries, and Merchants: The Legacy of Colonial Encounters on the California Frontiers, by (https://www.ucpress.edu/books/indians-missionaries-and-merchants/paper)Kent Lightfoot (https://www.ucpress.edu/books/indians-missionaries-and-merchants/paper) California Indians and Their Environment: An Introduction (https://www.ucpress.edu/books/california-indians-and-their-environment/paper), by Kent Lightfoot & Otis Parrish Inclusion, Transformation, and Humility in North American Archaeology: Essays and Other “Great Stuff” Inspired by Kent G. Lightfoot (https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/MalliosInclusion), Edited by Seth Mallios, Sara L. Gonzalez, Michael Grone, Kathleen L. Hull, Peter Nelson, and Stephen W. Silliman Articles: "The Study of Sustained Colonialism: An Example from the Kashaya Pomo Homeland in Northern California," by Kent Lightfoot & Sara L. Gonzalez. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-antiquity/article/study-of-sustained-colonialism-an-example-from-the-kashaya-pomo-homeland-in-northern-california/AADD8ADA45E2191A68F804D52CD7774C) "The Study of Indigenous Management Practices in California: An Introduction," (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/1947461X13Z.00000000011?casa_token=e_CdYgWXEngAAAAA:7-Av_SKeOykpcBiDjUAL8sqO5wsIOwaQqRbabN1uYjrroMroh2wY_Opm4bYwaMaI4O8Rkj1xsRPZtg)by Kent Lightfoot & Amah Mutsun Tribal Chair Valentin Lopez. Recent Collaborative Archeaological Fieldwork on the Santa Cruz Coast (https://amahmutsun.org/land-trust-newsevents/collaborative-archaeological-fieldwork-on-the-santa-cruz-coast), Amah Mutsun Tribal Band website. Archaeology’s Diachronic Dimension, Historical Anthropology, and the Hawaiian-Shirt Renaissance: An Interview with Kent Lightfoot, (https://soap.sdsu.edu/Volume2/4_Mallios.pdf) by Seth Mallios, conducted in 2004.

2. 

   9 Jan 2026

   s03e04: Collaborative Archaeology

   In our last season, we explored the problematic colonial roots of the academic fields of Anthropology and Archaeology, "Salvage Anthropology" and legacies of extractive and exploitation of Indigenous communities. In this episode we will share an example of how some contemporary archaeologists are working closely with Tribal members to focus their research on issues that are of interest and helpful for Tribal members. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has been working closely with Archaeologists over the last fifteen years, culminating in a Summer Archaeology Program that draws together Archaeology students and Tribal members from the Amah Mutsun and other partnering Tribes, in a collaborative learning and field work project. Speakers: Amah Mutsun Tribal Members, Gabriel Pineida & Elizabeth Rodriguez, Cameron Dakota-Chow Garcia (Chalon Ohlone-Esselen, Zacateco), Amah Mutsun Land Trust Cultural Resources Program Manager, Alec Apodaca, and Gabe Sanchez, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Oregon. For further reading / listening: 2025 Summer Internship Program: Collaborative Archaeology, Heritage, and Cultural Landscapes (https://amahmutsunlandtrust.org/nlf25-internship-2025) Recent Collaborative Archaeological Fieldwork on the Santa Cruz Coast (https://amahmutsun.org/land-trust-newsevents/collaborative-archaeological-fieldwork-on-the-santa-cruz-coast) California Archaeology, Volume 5, Issue 2 (2013) - Special journal examining the collaborative work done by California State Parks, UC Berkeley Archaeology Department, and members of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. (https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ycal20/5/2) You can listen to our previous episodes about the historic problems in Archaeology at these links: s02e02: Salvage Anthropology "A Nasty Business" (https://rss.com/podcasts/challengingcolonialism/837201/) s02e03: The Legacy of Kroeber, Ishi, & UC Berkeley (https://rss.com/podcasts/challengingcolonialism/873079/)

3. 

   27 Oct 2025

   s03e03: The Scandal of Cal with Tony Platt

   This episode includes an interview with Tony Platt, author of The Scandal of Cal: Land Grabs, White Supremacy, and Miseducation at UC Berkeley. (https://www.heydaybooks.com/catalog/the-scandal-of-cal/) Dr. Platt is the author of thirteen books and 150 essays and articles on race, inequality, and social justice in American history, among them Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States; Bloodlines: Recovering Hitler’s Nuremberg Laws, from Patton’s Trophy to Public Memorial; and The Child Savers: The Invention of Delinquency. In this interview he also discusses the book he wrote prior to this one, Grave Matters: The Controversy over Excavating California’s Buried Indigenous Past, (https://www.heydaybooks.com/catalog/grave-matters-the-controversy-over-excavating-californias-buried-indigenous-past/) which explores the Indigenous led fight to protect burial sites up in Humboldt County in the 1970s and 80s. We encourage you to check out both books. You can find more about Dr. Platt's work on these topics in the following articles: "A Top UC Berkeley Professor Taught With Remains That May Include Dozens of Native Americans (https://www.propublica.org/article/berkeley-professor-taught-suspected-native-american-remains-repatriation)," ProPublica, March 5, 2023. The Repatriation Project: The Delayed Return of Native Remains (https://www.propublica.org/series/the-repatriation-project) The Repatriation Project: NAGPRA Database (https://projects.propublica.org/repatriation-nagpra-database/) For more on the history of UC Berkeley and Alfred Kroeber, give a listen to our podcast episode on these topics: s02e03: The Legacy of Kroeber, Ishi, & UC Berkeley (https://rss.com/podcasts/challengingcolonialism/873079/) On NAGPRA and Repatriation, listen to: s02e04: "You Have Disturbed Our Ancestors" (NAGPRA p.I) (https://rss.com/podcasts/challengingcolonialism/914017/) s02e05: "Bury Them with Dignity" (NAGPRA p. II) (https://rss.com/podcasts/challengingcolonialism/989497/) s02e06: "This Work Has to be Done" (NAGPRA p.III) (https://rss.com/podcasts/challengingcolonialism/1022382/) Audio editing: Daniel Stonebloom Interview: Martin Rizzo-Martinez Music: G. Gonzales "Chumash Uprising" logo artwork: John Jota Leaños

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

16 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 14 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

7

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

Contact Challenging Colonialism

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.