Faculty/Staff Detail

Hollis K. Miller

My research interests focus on archaeologies of colonialism, historical ecology, storytelling in archaeology, and community-based research. These interests are drawn together in the Old Harbor Archaeological History Project (OHAHP), which explores Indigenous Sugpiaq/Alutiiq negotiation of Russian colonialism from the late 18th century through the mid-19th century on Kodiak Island in Alaska. In my dissertation, I used various storytelling methods (personal, fictive, story-models) alongside standard archaeological analyses of faunal remains and belongings (a.k.a. artifacts) to examine how Sugpiaq people worked, related to the land, and made community – in short, persisted and survived – in the midst of Russian colonial impositions.

My research would not be possible without insight and direction from the Old Harbor community. I am committed to community-based research practices, which foreground the needs and interests of local, Indigenous and/or descendant communities in the development and implementation of research. OHAHP has active youth programs, including a collaboration with Nuniaq Culture Camp and an internship program, that support the training of Alaska Native youth in scientific research methods and ensure that archaeological research has a life in Old Harbor (not just in the academy) and is accountable to the community.

Education

Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Washington, 2023

M.A. Anthropology, University of Washington, 2017

B.A. Geology, Anthropology & Sociology, Lafayette College, 2015

Teaching

ANT 103: Archaeological Principles in Cultural Context

ANT 301: Archaeologies of North America

ANT 302: Native American Peoples, Cultures, and Activisms

ANT 329: Special Topic – Historical Ecology

Publications

Ben Fitzhugh & Hollis Miller. 2023. Old Harbor Archaeological History Project: Ing'yuq Site (KOD-114). Arctic Data Center. doi:10.18739/A20Z70Z20.

Hollis K. Miller and Ben Fitzhugh. 2023. Excavation at the Ing’yuq Village Site (KOD-114) on Sitkalidak Island: Report on Summer 2021 Fieldwork by the Old Harbor Archaeological History Project. Submitted to the Old Harbor Native Corporation and the Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor. On file at the Alutiiq Museum, Kodiak, AK.

2020. OHAHP 2019 Report: Archaeological Testing at Ing’yug (KOD-114) on Sitkalidak Island. Submitted to Old Harbor Native Corporation and Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor. On file at the Alutiiq Museum, Kodiak, AK.

L.C. Peterson, K.T. Lawrence, T.D. Herbert, R. Caballero-Gill, H. Miller, C. Kelly, J. Seidenstein, J. Wilson, L. Holte, K. Huska, and D. Hovey. 2020. Plio-Pleistocene hemispheric (a)symmetries in the northern and southern hemisphere mid-latitudes. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology 35(3). DOI: 10.1029/2019PA003720

Sara L. Gonzalez, Yoli Ngandali, Samantha Lagos, Hollis K. Miller, Ben Fitzhugh, Sven Haakanson, Peter Lape, and Alison Wylie. 2019. Collaborations in Indigenous and Community-Based Archaeology: Preserving the Past Together at the University of Washington. Archaeology in Washington 19: 15-33.

Hollis K. Miller & Ben Fitzhugh. 2019. Report on the Old Harbor Archaeological History Project Pilot Survey: August 2018. Submitted to Old Harbor Native Corporation, Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Alaska Regional Branch), Alaska Department of Natural Resources. On file at the Alutiiq Museum, Kodiak, AK.

Grants

Grants:

Belmont Forum, Climate and Cultural Heritage CFP, “Telling Adaptations: Living Environmental Stories for Coastal Resilience (Coastal TALES)”. Consortium Lead: Louise Steel; United States PI: Steven Beschloss; Ireland PI: Poul Holm; Co-PIs: Luci Attala, J. Ben Fitzhugh, Carwyn Graves, Steven Hartman, Hollis Miller, Cordula Scherer, Gareth David Thomas, Simon Wright, Tracey Gilbert-Falconer, 2024-2027 (€770,000)

Quaternary Research Center Grant, University of Washington, “Sitkalidak Archaeological Youth Camp 2023.” PIs: Ben Fitzhugh and Hollis Miller, 2023 ($7,918)

National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs, “Doctoral Dissertation Research: Uncovering Native-Lived Colonialism in Old Harbor, Alaska.” PI: Ben Fitzhugh, Co-PI: Hollis K. Miller, 2021-2023 ($55,339). NSF Award #2051935

Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies Travel and Research Grant, University of Washington, “Old Harbor Archaeological History Project.” PI: Hollis K. Miller, 2019 ($2,500).

Links

Podcast Episode: “Panel: Frontiers in Archaeological Sciences 3, Rethinking the Paradigm.” RadioCIAMS, Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies, Cornell University, 2023.

Video: Excavating at the Ing’yuq Site: The Old Harbor Archaeological History Project, 2022

Podcast Episode: “Episode 1: Hollis & Hope.” Write for You Podcast, Odegaard Writing & Research Center, University of Washington, 2020