In 1987, a small number of historical archaeologists issued a call for archaeologists to embrace the teachings of critical theory so that their research could be used to challenge societal structures of inequality. Although community partnering, an outgrowth of critical theory, has become increasingly important to archaeolog ical practice, a true archaeological "praxis" has yet to be achieved. Possible reasons for this include a decontextualization of critical theory from its historical origin, the subsequent reifi• cation of capitalism in critical lesearch, and the obscuring of agency in critical interpretations because of an emphasis on top down or macIOscale models of society. We suggest that true praxis can be achieved in historical archaeology through a recon ceptualization of the lelationship between individuals and soci ety and through a structuring of archaeological research that seeks to create a discursive relationship between past and pre sent peoples and between researchers and community partners. We present a critically informed archaeological case study from Louisiana to demonstlate how such a dialogue can lead to eman icipatory knowledge.