Dana Lepofsky

Biosketch

Dana Lepofsky is Distinguished Professor Emerita in the Department of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University. She received her BA in Anthropology from the University of Michigan and her MA from the University of British Columbia. Her PhD research from the University of California Berkeley examined the history of agriculture in the Society Islands. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Focusing on the Northwest Coast of North America, Dr. Lepofsky’s research examines the long-term relationships among Indigenous Peoples and their environment in their current social and ecological contexts.

Research Interests

Dr. Lepofsky’s research brings together diverse knowledge holders to build long-term partnerships with descendent communities. She uses a range of social and natural sciences methods to examine culturally significant, but often-understudied ecosystems and species, such as herring and clams. She has championed the idea of active management of resources and ecosystems by ancient peoples and the significance of the cultural and ecological knowledge embodied in those management systems. She co-founded the Herring School and the Clam Garden Network to engage academic and Indigenous researchers in bringing traditional management systems to modern contexts. Lepofsky also focuses on cultural keystone places, bringing together oral traditions, ethno-ecological surveys, archaeological surveys and excavations, interviews, and archival data in interactive websites. Dr. Lepofsky is committed to using popular interest in science-based archaeology as a focal point for inter-community conversations that honor past and present Indigenous heritage.