The 2024 Newcomb Cleveland Prize celebrates cross-cultural research between western and Indigenous scientists

Dr Jaco Weinstock from the Department of Archaeology was among an interdisciplinary team of Indigenous and western scientists from around the globe to be selected as recipients of the 2024 Newcomb Cleveland Prize.

The award of $25,000, given at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to an outstanding publication in Science, is the oldest and most prestigious award given by the organization.

The award was given to the diverse authorship team of Early Dispersal of Domestic Horses in the Great Plains and Northern Rockies, published in the journal in the spring of 2023. The paper combined archaeozoological study of ancient horses from archaeological sites and museum collections across the continent with cutting-edge genomics, and traditional Indigenous scientific knowledge, helping to rewrite the story of people and horses in North America.

The paper showed that horses had deeper antiquity in Native societies across the region than could be gleaned from European or American historical records; it demonstrated that horses of European descent were integrated into indigenous cultures across western North America long before the arrival of Europeans in that region. Most importantly, the research demonstrated the enhanced research experience and scientific power that comes from thoughtful cross-cultural partnerships based on equal footing.

“Walking the earth as Lakota is to protect, sustain and advocate for all life. This global collaboration, and those to come, are what is necessary for ourselves and all Peoples to protect their traditional lands, relations and lifeways for the sustainability of Grandmother Earth and all life. The time is upon us,” says Chief Joe American Horse, an Indigenous scientist, knowledge keeper and study co-author.

The funds from the award will be donated to create a new endowment at the University of Colorado, named in memoriam for late study co-author and elder, Knowledge Keeper and cultural educator for the Sicangu Lakota People, Sam High Crane. The endowment will help support research and training for Indigenous perspectives and young professionals in archaeology, archaeogenetics, and the museum world.