Information Studies Research Works
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1632
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Item Supporting Cultural Rights and Indigenous Sovereignty through Archival Repatriation(PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review, 2024-09-21) Sorensen, Amanda H.; Bull, Ia; Marsh, Diana; Lee, SamanthaPrimary source materials are irreplaceable cultural resources for the communities in which they originated, particularly when they derive from Native and Indigenous communities (Parezo 1999). These communities have been disenfranchised from their own information, data, and knowledge through the evidentiary and collecting practices of historical anthropological researchers, as well as the actions of archives, museums, and other collecting institutions. Knowledge extraction, wherein practitioners collect data for their own uses without appreciation of originating community perspectives or needs to access the data, was frequent in the early years of the discipline (First Archivists Circle 2007; Christen and Anderson 2019, 92-3). This localized information (regarding religious or ceremonial practices, for example) was dispersed to archives worldwide via what scholars have called an “archival diaspora” (Punzalan 2014a), effectively removing archives from the hands of originating communities. Furthermore, anthropologists have at times created field records in the context of assimilation and genocide, or through imbalanced and unethical power relations (O’Neal 2014). These historical factors underscore the ethical responsibility of archivists and data curators to provide community access to archival and unpublished information. There is a strong need for political and legal anthropologists, cultural heritage professionals, and policy writers to not only center human rights in ongoing research, but also to place Indigenous Knowledge Systems at the core of their efforts (O’Neal 2019, 50). We argue that the repatriation of archival materials (including physical repatriation but also encompassing ownership transfer or shared stewardship) is crucial to protecting “moral and material interests” embedded in community knowledge, language, storytelling, survivance, and the wider “cultural life of the community” (United Nations 2007).Item Piloting Reparative Description and Metadata in SNAC via the Indigenous Description Group(Descriptive Notes, 2024-04-02) Bull, Ia; Chapman, Lindsey; Curliss, Lydia; Hamilton, Mik; Marsh, Diana; Martin, Worthy; Miller, Jerrid Lee; Pipestem, Veronica; Smoke, Ugoma; Sorensen, Amanda H; Stoner, MelissaArchivists have recognized the need to rethink how this knowledge can be better represented, not only to heal previous harms but also to make information more accessible and usable for communities. A number of professional organizations and working groups have been developing inclusive description policies, resources, and approaches that can be leveraged in a wide range of institutional contexts. In March 2023, we launched Indigenous Description Group (IDG)–modeled after SNAC’s Enslaved Description Group (EDG)–within SNAC’s Editorial Standards Working Group. The goals of the IDG are to 1) improve accessibility to archival collections for Indigenous Tribal communities; 2) mitigate harm caused by extractive collecting processes; and 3) engage in reparative description across systems, at scale, and in an interoperable way.Item A New Committee Launches: Making a Case for Archival Repatriation(2024-01) Punzalan, Ricardo; Arsenault, Jaime; Begay, Vina; Chaterera-Zambuko, Forget; Marsh, Diana; Savory, Jacob; Schlottmann, Kevin; Stoner, Melissa; Schmitt, JackAccess to and community possession of archival materials containing Native and Indigenous knowledge, language, and lifeways is crucial to the cultural survivance, revital- ization, and continuation of communities. Nevertheless, archival organizations have yet to fully address how the profession might approach the growing demand for archival repatriation. In response, the Society of American Archivists formed the Archival Repatriation Committee with the charge to “[E]nsure that [SAA]’s services, activities, policies, communications, and products support the goal of supporting archivists in repatriating and receiving archival materials.”Item The Protocols for Native American Archival Materials and Description(2021-04-15) Buchanan, Rose; Marsh, DianaThe Protocols for Native American Archival Materials (PNAAM) establish best practices for the culturally responsive care and use of Native American archival materials, particularly materials that are housed in non-Tribal institutions. Following SAA’s endorsement of PNAAM as an external standard in 2018, the Native American Archives Section (NAAS) launched a case studies and webinar series about implementing them. These resources include guidelines for providing culturally appropriate and accurate descriptive information for Native American and Indigenous collections.Item Aleš Hrdlička: A New Finding Aid and an Exhibit Appearance for a Controversial Figure in the History of Anthropology(Smithsonian Collections Blog, 2020-04-03) Christensen, Katherine; Marsh, DianaAleš Hrdlička was an anthropologist who left a complicated legacy. His work in physical anthropology was groundbreaking, but his history is fraught with accusations of misogyny and a belief that his work contributed to major racist ideologies of the 20th century. His papers are open for research at the National Anthropological Archives and the finding aid for those papers, the original creation of which was funded by the Repatriation Office, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), is now available digitally on SOVA through recent funding from the FY2019 Collections Information (CIS) pool. Some of Hrdlička’s work is on display in the new exhibition, Documenting Diversity: How Anthropologists Record Human LifeItem Sydel Silverman: A New Virtual Finding Aid for a Scholar Committed to Anthropology’s Legacy(Smithsonian Collections Blog, 2020-03-11) Marsh, Diana; Christensen, KatherineLast March, a giant in the field of anthropology passed away. Sydel Silverman (1933-2019) was a scholar of Italian and other (as she called them) “complex” societies, as well as the history of anthropology. Silverman advocated for anthropology throughout her career. At the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center in the 1970s, Silverman argued that anthropology was an “essential” discipline, convincing Margaret Mead to join her fight. Silverman’s perhaps most influential contribution to the field was her leadership of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, anthropology’s most prominent funding organization, where she served as President from 1987 to 1999. Through Wenner-Gren, Silverman built anthropology’s intellectual community and reach. Silverman was also a major proponent of preserving anthropology’s legacy through archival records. She helped to found the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR), which published works on the topic and created a registry of anthropologists’ archival papers. This month, the NAA published a digital, keyword searchable (‘encoded’, in archives-speak) finding aid (created by Katherine Christensen) to Silverman’s collections.Item Reparative Description, Indigenous Partners, and the SNAC Edit-a-thon(Archival Outlook, 2022-03-28) Curliss, Lydia; Gates, Irene; Marsh, Diana; Satriano, Katherine; Bruchac, Margaret; Gibson, Taylor; Long, Keahiahi; Curley, Stephen; Hemenway, Eric; Stoner, MelissaThe Social Networks and Archival Context—a.k.a. SNAC—is a free, online resource that helps users discover biographical and historical information about individuals, families, and organizations that created or are documented in primary sources and to see their connections to one another. Users can find archival materials from cultural heritage institutions around the world. In ongoing efforts to increase diverse representation of entities in SNAC and to ensure that records related to Indigenous and Native communities are described in ways that reflect and respect them, SNAC hosted an “edit-a-thon” on October 11–12, 2021. This event, held during Indigenous People’s Day, extended the work of SNAC’s 2020 edit-a-thon centering Indigenous records and consciously included a greater Indigenous presence by having an Indigenous advisory board, targeting outreach to Indigenous participants, and developing an Indigenous editorial guide. The event resulted in important cultural protocols and workflows, a new Editorial Guide for Indigenous Descriptions in SNAC, and better representation for over 50 SNAC records.Item Providing Culturally Responsive and Ethical Access To Indigenous Collections(Archival Outlook, 2019-05) Carpenter, Brian; Haynes, Caitlin; Marsh, Diana; Posas, Lisa; Punzalan, Ricardo L.; Rappaport, Gina; Stoner, MelissaSAA’s Code of Ethics states, “Archivists promote the respectful use of culturally sensitive materials in their care by encouraging researchers to consult with communities of origin, recognizing that privacy has both legal and cultural dimensions.” For repositories with Native archival materials, it’s especially important to develop clear guidelines for handling material. Six archivists share how their repositories are shifting policies and practices to promote respectful use of Native archival materials.