Benjamin J. Kucher (he/him) is a Métis archaeologist, writer, and community advocate, and a citizen of the Métis Nation of Alberta with ancestral ties to the Michel First Nation. His research focuses on Métis archaeology and material culture, with particular attention to trade beads as expressions of identity, gendered labour, intergenerational knowledge, and domestic practice. His thesis, Beads and Boundaries: Trade Beads and the Archaeology of Métis Cultural Expression, reframes beads not as passive remnants of colonial exchange, but as culturally embedded belongings that articulate Métis aesthetics, kinship, and cultural authority. Grounded in community-based and Indigenous archaeological frameworks, his work centers the Buffalo Lake Métis site and prioritizes Métis epistemologies, data sovereignty, and relational accountability.

Alongside his archaeological research, Benjamin is deeply involved in Indigenous-led efforts to locate, protect, and care for unmarked graves and burial sites associated with Indian Residential Schools. He works with communities on ethical ground-search initiatives using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), archival research, and survivor-informed protocols that emphasize consent, care, and cultural responsibility. His advocacy foregrounds Indigenous governance, cautions against extractive or technocratic approaches to search work, and insists on community authority over all stages of investigation, interpretation, and commemoration.

Benjamin’s work bridges archaeology, justice, and survivance, insisting that research must remain accountable to the people, lands, and histories it engages.