African scuba divers rewrite a ‘settlers’ narrative’ of the slave trade
On Gorée Island a short boat ride from Dakar a group of African students take part in a program setting out to enable archaeologists to explore their own history. This particular group of students from countries all over West Africa are being trained how to scuba dive and then collect data on what researchers believe to be a sunken slave ship.
For the divers, it marked an opportunity to pursue maritime archaeology focused not on treasure but understanding a past that is often left to an industry dominated by white westerners this is an effort to decolonize the historically White area of study.
The group of students - some of whom could not swim at first - learnt to dive over the course of a few weeks with the helping hand from Gabrielle Miller, the archaeologist for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture who was leading the project.
The hope is to hand back the power to those who should be uncovering their own history not on the hunt for treasure but for an understanding of what happened.