On April 17th we had a meeting discussing the archives portion of our class investigation. Amy Cooper Cary, UW-Milwaukee archivist, Mark Theil Marquette University archivist and Troy Reeves Oral History and Archives at the WI Historical Society all joined us for brunch followed by a 3+ hour discussion.
Amy began the discussion and told us about her background working with the Dine (Navajo) people in Arizona, where she started an archiving project by basically sorting out a closet of archival materials. Amy also shared with us statistics concerning the number of archivists total in the US. There are about 10,000 archivists in the US and only 1.9% identify as Native American. We also discussed the difficulties of Native Americans becoming archivists, relating to history and culture. However, it was emphasized the importance of Native Americans being responsible for sensitive artifacts and issues that arise in the archival process.
After Amy’s discussion Mark began with his background and credentials. He noted that he was a non-indian adopted by the Ho-Chunk people and has worked with Native Americans professionally for many years. In 1973 he worked on the Pine Ridge Reservation and was working there during Wounded Knee. Mark discussed the difficulties of gathering archives as there must be trust gained between archivist/institutions and tribes/individuals. There are still many people who have archives and artifacts in personal collections that might benefit from being in a controlled environment. Also there are still issues surrounding non-natives possessing artifacts that were unlawfully attained.
Finally, Troy Reeves from the Oral History Program at the Historical Society told us his experience with recording oral histories. Although he has not yet worked with Native American communities he is looking forward to extending the oral history program to include more accounts from Native Americans. He thinks to break down the barriers that may exist between interviewer and interviewee tribes could be trained to record their own oral histories, thus enhancing the authenticity of the recordings.
This lively presentation and discussion following was an excellent opportunity for the class to understand more in depth the issues surrounding archiving Native American issues and oral histories.
