About

Sonya Atalay is a public anthropologist and archaeologist specializing in Indigenous science protocols, practices, and research methodologies conducted with and for Indigenous communities. She is the Director of the Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science (CBIKS), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center. Her work focuses on understanding how Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing can be integrated with mainstream research practices in an ethical manner that avoids exploitation or harm. Atalay has extensive experience with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), having served two terms on the National NAGPRA Review Committee, and has produced research-based comics in partnership with Native nations about repatriation and cultural heritage. She is the author of several books on community-based research and Indigenous knowledge, including 'Community-Based Archaeology' and 'The Community-Based PhD,' and is completing a book titled 'Braiding Knowledges: How Indigenous Knowledge is Challenging and Changing Institutions.' Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Mellon New Directions program, and she has participated in international collaborations such as the IPinCH project. At MIT, she teaches courses on Indigenous research practices and community-based archaeology, with her overarching focus being the ethical conduct of community-based research in partnership with Indigenous peoples.

Labs

• MIT AnthropologyPI

Awards & honors

• 2022 American Anthropological Association, Patty Jo Watson D…
• 2021 Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award, UMass Amherst Grad…
• 2020 Chancellor’s Leadership Fellowship

Similar researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Rudolf Jaenischh-295
• Robert A. Weinbergh-291
• Susumu Tonegawah-237
• James J. Collinsh-232
• Phillip A. Sharph-227