ABSTRACT
This chapter gives a call for contextualization of archaeological endeavors before their evaluation in terms of their compatibility with the ideals of community archaeology. People have never participated in community archaeology in the sense of archaeological research undertaken by and for a community nor, alas, in community-based participatory research (CBRP). The research climate of the 1980s did not conceive of collaborative or participatory research involving partnership with a local community, nor was it interested in the heritage of the Other, except for Canadian Others in which it had colonial, economic, aesthetic, and other interests. In the early to mid-1990s, people obtained their research authorizations promptly, were appointed as official research workers, and assisted with visa extensions. Twenty years later, Nigerian historian Bawuro Barkindo, who had conducted research at Sukur in the 1970s, was contacted by members of a BBC team looking for suitable communities in which to record part of Basil Davidson's documentary series Africa.
