<p>The divide between historical and prehistoric archaeology in the North American tradition is a result of the discipline’s colonial heritage. This system of power serves to disenfranchise descendant populations by invoking the perception of imminent and unavoidable acculturation. In order to rid the discipline of this damaging divisiveness, we archaeologists must examine our categories, deconstruct them through an engagement with critical theories, and reconstruct culturally contextual and complex understandings of the past through collaboration with Indigenous communities. The whitewashing of history caused by “chronocentrism” can be undone in part by engaging with queer theory, which advocates for a deconstruction of categories through reflexivity, an attention to and valuation of small-scale events, the relinquishing of tidy grand narratives that promote normative ideas of progress, and a consideration for emergent and dynamic processes of society. This mode of research requires that we no longer privilege texts or scientific methodology based on the “type of archaeology” we are conducting, but rather utilize the proper tools for the questions asked of the record. Turning to archaeology in Hawaiʻi as a case study, I emphasize methodological approaches informed by queer theory and critical Indigenous theory. Said approaches deconstruct the prehistoric/historical divide that dominates Hawaiian archaeology by centering Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) oral histories and worldviews rather than European American histories and documentation. The queering of the historical approach provides a more complete picture of the complex histories of descendant communities.</p>