Unsettling Archaeology as a Tool to Raise Self-respect and Well-Being

Archaeology has become unsettled by the processes of decolonization, especially demands of Indigenous peoples for repatriation of their Ancestors and their belongings. They and other marginalized groups also have challenged the validity of archaeological stories about the origins and development of their cultures, especially when the truths of their own stories have been excluded or denigrated, and their right to tell them sometimes even denied. Many archaeologists reacted to these discomforting challenges with dismay, even anger, at what they saw as a loss of control over their practice. Others saw unsettling archaeology as a means to create a collaborative archaeology, responsive to concerns of Indigenous and other marginalized people. All responses to being unsettled carry possibilities for risks, rewards, and failures for archaeologists as individuals, for potential partners who seek change, and for archaeology as a discipline. This chapter is an autoethnography—reflexive stories really—of an archaeologist who offers a “mind-map” of his collaborations with Native Americans and homeless people as a tool to increase self-esteem for archaeologists and their partners, but also to “rebrand” archaeology as a more socially responsible and useful discipline.