Toward Inclusive Reading Rooms: Recommendations for Decolonizing Practices and Welcoming Indigenous Researchers

Abstract

The article, based on a discussion between the Native American Archives Section (NAAS) and the Human Rights Archives Section (HRAS) at the Society of American Archivists' Annual Meeting, discusses the current culture of archival reading rooms and how to start the process of decolonizing them. It begins with examples of institutional archives that have introduced culturally-responsive practices for their Native users as well as, and provides recommendations for institutions to continue fostering welcoming environments. It fills an important gap in current archival literature around decolonizing methodologies and practices in institutions, which has largely ignored the arcane colonial practices and spaces through which Native and Indigenous (and many BIPOC) researchers physically gain access to their heritage collections.