Dr Christopher Wilson
Senior Lecturer
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Chris Wilson is an Ngarrindjeri archaeologist and Indigenous studies educator who was the first Indigenous Australian to be awarded a PhD in Archaeology. He works closely with Aboriginal communities in South Australia, particularly the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation (NAC). His teaching and research interests include Australian archaeology; Archaeology of the First Australians, Holocene occupation of the Lower Murray River and Coorong regions in south-eastern Australia; Indigenous cultural heritage; Repatriation of Indigenous ancestral remains; Indigenous Australian studies; and, critical race studies. He assisted with the return and reburial of Ngarrindjeri ancestral remains from Museum Victoria and the United Kingdom and was a former member of the International Repatriation Advisory Committee (IRAC) appointed by the Federal Government.
Chris Wilson is a current member of the Aboriginal Advisory Committee (AAC) for the South Australian Museum (SAM) and actively engaged in research including Associate Investigator for the Centre for Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre for Excellence in Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH). He has presented international keynotes and conference presentations for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Athens, Greece, World Archaeological Congress (WAC) in Washington D.C. and Society for American Archaeology (SAA) in St Louis, United State of America (USA). He is passionate about improving the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples globally in the areas of Indigenous archaeology, cultural heritage and social justice.
2017, Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Archaeology, Flinders University
2010, Professional Certificate in Indigenous Research Training and Practice, University of Melbourne
2006, Bachelor of Archaeology (Honours) First Class, Flinders University
2004, Bachelor of Archaeology (Indigenous Archaeology), Flinders University
Current Research Projects
2019-2021 PI, Indigenous Cultural Heritage as a Facilitator for the Sustainable Development Goals, funded collaborative research project (Prof Alok Kumar Kanungo PI, Archaeology, IIT, Gandhinagar and Dr Nisshant Choksi Co-PI, Archaeology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar and Professor Claire Smith, Co-PI, Archaeology, Flinders University), funded by the SPARC Program Project, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India.$250,000
2019-2021, CI, Refining Holocene Occupation, Subsistence and Chronologies in the Lower Murray River, South Australia, Reserach Training & Ethics (RT&E) Grant, Centre for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH). $30,000
2012-2021, CI/PI, National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network (NIRAKN), Australian Research Council (ARC), Special Research Initiative (CI Professor Aileen Morten-Robinson, Queensland university of Technology (QUT) (SR120100005). $3.2M
Completed Research Projects
2012 CI, Stage 2: AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Fish Otoliths from the Lower Murray River, SA, Australian Institute for Nuclear Science and Engineering (AINSE) Research Award (Grant ID: 11022) $16,000
2010 Ngarrindjeri Reburial Commuinty Program, International Repatriation Unit, Department for Family and Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) $10,000
2009 CI, Stage 1: AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Fish Otoliths from the Lower Murray River, SA, Australian Institute for Nuclear Science and Engineering (AINSE) Research Award (Grant ID: ALNGRA10062) $7040
2008 CI, Lower Murray Archaeological Project, Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Research Grant (Grant ID: G2008/7398) $21,592
2007 Professor Lowitja O’Donoghue Indigenous Student Postgraduate Scholarship, Flinders University $25,627
2005 Warnung (Hack's Point) - Old Peoples Places: A Collaborative approach to archaeological survey, research and management planning (a pilot study), Flinders Univesity $4,200
Honours and Awards
2020 Flinders Univesity Early Career Alumni Award
2007 National University Indigenous Partnership Award (with Dr Catherine Koerner and Dr Simone Tur), DEST and Indigneous Higher Education Council $10,000
2007 Office for Youth Outstanding Young Indigenous Acheiver Award, Channel 9 Young Achiever Awards $1000
University Teaching, Research & Service
Topic coordinator, lecturer and tutor in archaeology and Indigenous Australian studies
Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and supervision
Convenor of the Archaeology Research Seminars
Contribution to university wide reconciliation and Indigenous workforce strategy
External Appointments & Ministerial Committees
2020-2022 Member, Aboriginal Advisory Committee, South Australian Museum
2019-2021 Member, National Tertiary Education Union, Flinders Branch.
2010-2013 Member, Aboriginal Advisory Committee, Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project Grant titled ‘’Museum, Field, Metropolis, Colony: Practices of Social Governance’’, Chief Investigator: Toney Bennet, University of Western Sydney
2009-2010 Member, International Repatriation Advisory Committee (IRAC), appointed by Hon. Jenny Macklin MP, Federal Minister for Families and Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Canberra
2005-2006 Member, National Indigenous Youth Leadership Group (NIYLG), appointed by Hon. Mal Borough MP, Federal Minister for FACSIA.
Archaeology of the First Australians, Coastal and Riverinie Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, Museums and Repatriation, Indigenous Australian Studies, Critical Race Studies
Professional Service
Member of the Australian Archaeologists Association Inc. (AAA)
Member, Australian Indigenous Archaeologists Association Inc. (AIAA)
Affiliate Member, Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc. (AACAI)
Member, Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
- Aboriginal issues
- Archaeology
- Australia
- Contemporary Cultural & Political Issues
- Education - Aboriginal
- Indigenous Australia
- Race relations
- Archaeology of the Lower Murray River SA
- Australian Indigenous Archaeology
- Cultural Heritage
- Indigenous Studies
- Museums and Repatriation
- Ngarrindjeri People
ABC Story - Tommy Walker and the Bone Collector 14 Oct 2020
Nature Research Feature Story - June 2020
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01697-8
National Archaeology Week - May 2020
https://archaeologyweek.org/events-list/indigenous-archaeology-and-australias-shared-future
Indigenous Heritage Voices Podcast - 22 April 2020
https://www.archaeologypodcastnetwork.com/heritagevoices/38
Boomerang Discovered in Busfire - February 2020
Brave Minds - January 2020
https//www.flinders.edu.au/braveminds/past-perspectives-from-a-pioneer
National Geographic - September 2017
ABC Interview - September 2017
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