ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a strong argument for the importance of understanding the needs and aspirations of the communities in which archaeologists work. Mullins's public archaeology project on Indianapolis's near-Westside has involved close collaboration with the community's predominantly African-American neighborhood association, a relationship that has proven to be of major benefit in many instances, but that is also subject to misunderstandings related to different goals. Whereas the neighborhood association's principal interest has been in using archaeology to promote African-American achievement, the archaeologists see a somewhat more complex pattern of multicultural influence and racial and class inequality. That these goals are different does not mean that they are entirely incompatible. Recognizing that such different goals do exist might well be a necessary first step toward reconciliation and increased collaboration.
