Dr. Lindsay M. Montgomery is an anthropologist, archaeologist, and thought leader specializing in cultural heritage research and community-driven scholarship. As an
Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, Dr. Montgomery bridges the gap between academic research and real-world application, offering innovative solutions for organizations, institutions, and descendant communities seeking to engage meaningfully with cultural heritage issues.
With a Ph.D. from Stanford University and extensive field experience across North America, Dr. Montgomery’s work centers on collaborative research that integrates archaeology, oral traditions, and Indigenous knowledge systems. Her expertise supports institutions in developing ethical research frameworks, strengthening community partnerships, and advancing decolonial practices in cultural resource management and heritage preservation.
Dr. Montgomery’s research has been recognized nationally and across the world, with support from numerous prestigious organizations including the National Science Foundation, Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). She is committed to creating sustainable, culturally sensitive heritage projects that prioritize BIPOC voices and leadership at every stage.
In addition to her academic achievements, Dr. Montgomery actively consults with nonprofits, museums, universities, and governmental agencies to help shape policies and programs that reflect a deep respect for Indigenous histories and contemporary realities. Her dynamic speaking engagements, advisory services, and public scholarship initiatives have positioned her as a trusted voice in the field of archaeology and Indigenous heritage research.
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What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
A typical day for me begins with a 30-minute walk with my dog, which clears my head and helps me start the day with fresh air and light exercise. During the walk, I listen to the news—my only news intake of the day—as a way to stay informed without getting caught up in the constant flow of politics and social media. Once I get back and have my coffee in hand, I write my to-do list, which includes both short-term tasks like preparing for a class, responding to emails, or logistical tasks associated with planning fieldwork and long-term academic projects. Since academic work can be unstructured, this helps me stay focused and make steady progress on larger goals that don’t have immediate deadlines like grant writing or researching for a publication. I try to advance both types of projects every day.
How do you bring ideas to life?
For me, the creative process often begins with a conversation. Whether it’s a discussion with a student in one of my classes, a chat with colleagues at a conference, or a dialogue with community members during fieldwork, these conversations are what really get the wheels turning. They spark new ideas, challenge my assumptions, and often inspire fresh approaches or directions that I hadn’t considered before. From there, the process becomes an iterative cycle of researching, data processing, and more conversation. Whether it’s reflecting on my own thoughts or incorporating others’ perspectives, these dialogues are a crucial starting point in transforming an initial idea into something tangible and impactful. Progress is rarely linear in research and sometimes it feels like you’ve been working on something for a long time without developing a good understanding of the issue or problem. But that’s just part of the process, so I try to remind myself to be patient and embrace the process.
Once the idea is sparked, the fun really begins. It’s the stage where I start looking to see if other scholars have written on the topic and how they’ve approached it. This often leads me down a lot of rabbit holes, following citations and links from one article to another. It’s a process of discovery where I start to see the bigger picture of what’s out there, how ideas have evolved, and where there might be gaps or new directions to explore. This deep dive into the literature isn’t just about gathering information—it’s about connecting the dots between existing knowledge and refining my own thinking. It’s during this phase that my project begins to take shape more clearly, as I identify how my work can contribute to ongoing conversations or gaps in the field.
One example of this process comes from a recent project I’ve been working on around the Works Progress Administration (WPA). As I started researching the topic, I quickly found myself following citations and diving into various historical documents, reports, and analyses from scholars who had studied the WPA’s impact on American society. At first, I was focused on a particular angle oriented around the role of Black women at excavations in the US Southeast, but as I explored more sources, I realized that government funded work projects had made significant contributions to cultural heritage across the country. This exploration led me to come across something I’d never heard of before: the Civilian Conservation Corps-Indian Division (CCC-ID). I was fascinated to learn that this division played an important role in the development and preservation of archaeological sites, particularly in Arizona and New Mexico, where I do much of my fieldwork. The CCC-ID was responsible for not only preserving Indigenous cultural heritage but also for training Indigenous men in archaeology, construction, and other trades, allowing them to contribute to the documentation and protection of their cultural heritage and archaeological resources. It was a pivotal program that bridged Indigenous communities with New Deal-era efforts to conserve and understand the nation’s cultural heritage. I found it especially cool to discover how this lesser-known aspect of the CCC’s work directly impacted the archaeological landscape in the very regions I study, providing a deeper layer to my research on the WPA’s cultural initiatives.
Now, I’m entering the next phase of the project: identifying where information about these WPA and CCC-ID projects is stored and starting a new round of conversations with archivists and colleagues about the research. This phase is all about digging deeper into collections, historical records, and field reports to uncover the full scope of these cultural heritage initiatives. This collaborative approach is an important part of how I do research and leads to more engaging and complex work in my opinion.
What’s one trend that excites you?
I’m deeply inspired by a new generation of scholars who are increasingly centering descendant voices, perspectives, and goals through community-engaged research. This shift reflects a growing recognition of the importance of inclusivity, collaboration, and the ethical responsibility of researchers to work alongside the communities whose histories they are studying. The community-engaged research paradigm emphasizes collaboration between scholars and local communities, with the goal of co-producing knowledge that is both academically rigorous and socially relevant. What’s particularly exciting is how this trend is shifting the power dynamics traditionally seen in research, allowing communities to have a more active role in shaping the questions, methods, and outcomes of the studies that affect them. Whether it’s through participatory research, oral history projects, or community-based conservation efforts, this trend fosters deeper, more meaningful connections between archaeologists and the communities whose cultural heritage we work with. I truly believe that community-engaged research is the future of archaeology because it recognizes how scholarship is embedded in politics. As scholars, I believe we have a responsibility to think critically about how our research shapes the daily lives of local communities and its broader implications, including issues of representation, land or data rights, and the preservation of sites, landscapes, and cultural practices.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
One habit that consistently helps me stay productive is setting aside short, dedicated blocks of time for cognitively demanding work like drafting articles or grant proposals—especially in the morning when my mind is freshest. I keep these sessions relatively brief, which makes the stakes feel lower and helps me get started more easily, even on tasks like writing, that feel daunting. During these blocks, I hide my phone in my bag and close my email, which I try to only check twice a day—once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. I also use a free writing method, where I don’t stop to proofread or look up citations—I just write continuously. This helps me get into a state of flow, rather than getting bogged down by trying to make everything perfect the first time around. It allows ideas to take shape more organically and makes the revision process more productive, since I have something concrete to work with from the start.
What advice would you give your younger self?
If I could give advice to my undergraduate self, I’d say: don’t worry about having a perfectly mapped-out plan—progress isn’t linear, and some of the most valuable opportunities come from unexpected directions. For example, I learned a lot about how to be an analytical thinker and to construct arguments by taking political philosophy classes which weren’t directly related to my major in anthropology. I’d encourage myself to think outside the box and not just follow the obvious or most conventional trajectory. In addition to thinking beyond the expected career trajectory, I would tell my younger self to be brave! I was really shy as an undergraduate and graduate student and rarely spoke up in class because I was afraid I didn’t have the right answer or that my ideas weren’t fully formed or worth sharing. If I could go back, I’d tell myself not to second guess myself and I’d remind myself that thinking out loud, making mistakes, and learning publicly are not signs of weakness—they’re how ideas grow.
Tell us something you believe that almost nobody agrees with you on?
One thing I believe that almost nobody agrees on is the idea that failure is the world’s way of telling you that you’re doing something new and interesting. Rather than avoiding failure or reacting negatively to it, my philosophy is to go toward the heat—lean into those moments of failure, ask the tough questions, and use it as a springboard to refine your approach. This is a growth mindset that is often hard to implement (believe me!) but it really does help move you forward.
One example of this mindset came when I was trying to get a research project going in Colorado a couple of years ago. There was a major gap in academic studies of rock art in the region, but despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to get buy-in from the descendant communities I was hoping to work with. This felt like a major setback, but instead of just abandoning the idea, I dug deeper into why it wasn’t working. I had to ask myself some tough questions about my approach and what needed to change. I reflected on why the communities weren’t engaging with the project the way I had hoped. Was I framing it in a way that felt relevant to them? I also asked myself whether I was genuinely creating space for their input and whether the project could be something they saw as meaningful or beneficial. Instead of driving forward with my original plan, I needed to slow down and take a step back. I didn’t end up moving forward with that particular project, but the preliminary research and the lessons I learned from it created a platform for one of my graduate students to begin her dissertation work. By diving into the community’s concerns and doing that initial groundwork, I helped pave the way for her to approach the same issue with a fresh perspective. In the end, what felt like a failure for me turned out to be a steppingstone toward a much more relevant and community-engaged research endeavor.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
One thing I do that I’d recommend to everyone—whether you’re into fitness or not—is making physical activity a consistent part of your life. For me, it’s running. Although the first 10 minutes of running is always tough no matter how in shape I am, there’s something almost meditative that happens when you run for an extended period of time; your breath syncing with your stride, the steady movement forward, that helps reset and energize the mind. Some cognitive, studies have shown that we often experience our clearest thinking and most creative ideas not when we’re directly focused on a problem, but when we allow our minds to wander—especially during simple, repetitive tasks. Psychologists call this the “incubation effect.” When we stop consciously working on something, our brains often keep turning it over in the background, and that’s when breakthroughs can surface.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve stepped out for a run feeling mentally foggy or stuck, and returned with a new idea, a better perspective, or at least a calmer mindset. It’s not always dramatic—but it’s consistent. You don’t have to be a runner to tap into this. A walk around the block, a bike ride, even a short stretch session can do the trick. The point isn’t the intensity—it’s the act of stepping away, letting your body lead for a while, and giving your mind room to breathe
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
Same as above.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
One of the most effective strategies that’s helped me in my academic career is developing a self-contained mindset—focusing on my own goals and progress without constantly comparing myself to others. In academic environments, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of measuring your work against your peers—who’s publishing more, who’s getting the big grants, whose ideas seem more innovative. But I’ve found that this type of competitiveness breeds a culture of negativity that undermines equity and collaboration, both of which are essential for real learning and innovation. Throughout my career, I’ve made a conscious effort to stay grounded in my own path: What are the goals that my partners and I are working toward? Am I making real progress towards those goals? That mindset has helped me to find unexpected opportunities for synergy, for example my current collaboration with the Just and Equitable Digital Infrastructure Project which is building collaborations across historically marginalized communities, computer science and engineering faculty, government policy makers, and digital infrastructure companies to address the digital divide in Canada. As a Humanities and Social Science researcher, I would have never expected to find myself working on issues of internet connectivity and access but because of my focus on creating community-engaged work and fostering collegial networks this amazing opportunity presented itself!
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
I faced a difficult setback in my academic career in 2018 with the rejection of our collaborative NSF grant which we had developed across three universities in partnership with Picuris Pueblo, a Tribal Nation in northern New Mexico. The proposal represented years of relationship-building and months of careful, co-designed planning, so when it wasn’t funded, the disappointment was palpable. It felt like we had let down not only ourselves, but more importantly, the community that had entrusted us with their time, knowledge, and goals. However, this experience became a powerful lesson in resilience and the non-linear nature of progress. Rather than giving up, we responded to the reviewers’ critical feedback with openness and used it to refine and strengthen the project. We also found creative ways to move forward—cobbling together funds from other sources to support a field season that allowed us to gather additional data and maintain momentum. That extra effort paid off: our revised proposal was funded by NSF in 2019 and led to a deeply rewarding five-year collaboration. This experience taught me that setbacks don’t erase progress; they can shape it, redirect it, and ultimately make the outcome even stronger.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
One business idea I would gladly give away—born directly from my collaborative, community-based research—is a Community Research Cooperative: a small, mission-driven consultancy that helps historically marginalized communities design, manage, and evaluate their own research and data projects. The cooperative would have three core goals: enacting data sovereignty, developing scalable qualitative research, and policy advocacy.
First, a core facet of this Community Research Cooperative would be the implementation of tailored data sovereignty infrastructures and policies, designed in close collaboration with each partner community. Recognizing that data sovereignty is not one-size-fits-all, the cooperative would prioritize creating customizable systems that reflect each community’s values, governance structures, and cultural protocols. This could include secure digital repositories controlled locally, data governance agreements that define ownership and access, and capacity-building workshops to train community members in data management and ethical stewardship. By embedding these infrastructures into every stage of research—from design to dissemination—the cooperative would ensure that communities retain control over how their knowledge is collected, used, and shared, making research a tool for self-determination rather than extraction.
Another key component would be harnessing the power of AI in the development of scalable qualitative research frameworks. Traditional qualitative research methods—such as interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic observations—are labor-intensive and time-consuming, making them difficult to scale without losing depth or cultural relevance. However, AI tools can help streamline data collection, analysis, and synthesis while maintaining the integrity and richness of qualitative insights through the creation of customizable qualitative tools, harnessing of participatory analysis, and scaling data synethsis.
Finally, the Cooperative would focus on connecting collaborative qualitative research with policy advocacy. Many communities face systemic barriers to engaging in or leading research—not due to a lack of interest or expertise, but because of inadequate funding models, underinvestment in local infrastructure, and policies that overlook personnel or training among historically marginalized communities. The cooperative would advocate for policy reforms that shift how research dollars are allocated, calling for more direct-to-community funding mechanisms, support for long-term capacity building, and investments in locally governed data and tech infrastructure. By pairing on-the-ground project work with systems-level advocacy, the cooperative would help create the structural conditions necessary for true community leadership in research.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
One tool that has significantly boosted my productivity is Alice, an AI-powered audio transcription service. Alice is designed to quickly and accurately transcribe audio content, making it especially useful for converting interviews, focus groups, or meetings into written text. What sets Alice apart is its ability to handle not just clear, structured speech, but also more challenging audio, such as overlapping voices, background noise, or regional accents, which is often a challenge for other transcription services. The speed and accuracy with which Alice generates transcriptions save me countless hours that would otherwise be spent manually transcribing audio. Furthermore, Alice offers features like speaker identification and timestamping, making it even easier to review and analyze transcriptions. Alice is incredibly valuable in community-based research, where interviews or group discussions are often the main source of data. The ability to instantly generate high-quality transcriptions means I can focus more on analysis and interpretation of the data rather than the time-consuming transcription process. In short, Alice has helped me streamline the data collection process, making research more efficient and allowing me to focus on the deeper insights that come from qualitative data.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
Of the books I’ve read in the past 2 years, “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois” by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers really stands out as exceptional. This novel is a powerful and beautifully written exploration of African American history, identity, and the complexities of family legacy. What captivated me the most was the way Jeffers seamlessly blends personal and collective history, weaving together the life of Ailey, the novel’s protagonist, with the broader narrative of her ancestors’ experiences, spanning generations of hardship, resilience, and triumph. Jeffers’ prose is poetic and deeply moving, with vivid, immersive descriptions that make you feel connected to the characters’ inner lives and struggles. One of the most profound aspects of the novel is how it delves into the relationships between Black, Indigenous, and White communities, exploring the roles these groups played in the founding of American society. It really gets to the heart of how historical legacies of power, race, and exploitation shape identities and relationships today.
One of my all-time favorite podcasts is Freakonomics Radio. It’s an endlessly fascinating show that explores the hidden side of everything, from economics and social behavior to quirky topics like the economics of cheating or why people make irrational decisions. Hosted by Stephen Dubner, I’m particularly drawn to how the podcast breaks down complex issues using data, research, and expert insights, all while telling compelling, real-world stories. The way Dubner conducts interviews is another highlight—he’s able to ask thoughtful, probing questions that bring out new perspectives from his guests, making the conversations both informative and engaging. What I find especially inspiring is how Freakonomics pushes me to think about social questions I hadn’t considered before. The podcast often starts with a seemingly simple or overlooked question and unpacks it in such a way that I’m left with a deeper understanding of societal issues I might not have given much thought to. It challenges my assumptions, encourages critical thinking, and provides fresh insights into the world around me.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
A great TV series that I recently watched was produced by ESPN and called “Barry Sanders: A Football Life”. This documentary-style series offers an in-depth look at the legendary running back’s life and career, highlighting not just his incredible athleticism and on-field accomplishments but also delves into his quiet, humble nature off the field. Sanders’ story is fascinating because, unlike many other stars, he walked away from the game at the peak of his career, leaving fans and analysts alike wondering what could have been. The series captures this mystery, showcasing his unparalleled talent and the unique choices he made, all while maintaining his low-key, no-drama persona. One of the things I really loved about the series is how it emphasized Barry’s humility—how, after every big play, he would simply give the ball back to the referee without any flashy celebrations or grandstanding. The show balances interviews with teammates, coaches, and sports figures with rare footage, giving viewers a truly personal glimpse into the mind of one of football’s greatest and most enigmatic players. It’s a captivating tribute to a man who reshaped the running back position and forever changed the game.
I absolutely loved the movie “The Thief Collector.” It’s an intense, gripping film that masterfully weaves together elements of crime, mystery, and art history. The plot centers around the true story of a daring art heist and the search for the stolen masterpieces, exploring both the criminal world and the high-stakes art market. What really stood out to me was how the film humanizes the story, showing not only the heist itself but also the complex motivations behind those involved. The characters are well-developed, and the performances are compelling, particularly as they navigate the moral gray areas of greed, obsession, and the allure of art. The cinematography is stunning as well, capturing both the beauty and danger surrounding the world of fine art. What I found especially fascinating was the way the film explored the psychological and emotional costs of art theft—not just for the criminals but for the artists, collectors, and communities affected by the crime.
Key learnings
- One tool that has significantly boosted my productivity is Alice, an AI-powered audio transcription service
- One business idea I would gladly give away—born directly from my collaborative, community-based research—is a Community Research Cooperative: a small, mission-driven consultancy that helps historically marginalized communities design, manage, and evaluate their own research and data projects.
- If I could give advice to my undergraduate self, I’d say: don’t worry about having a perfectly mapped-out plan—progress isn’t linear, and some of the most valuable opportunities come from unexpected directions