Lotus, Omar, and Emily would like to thank everyone who attended our session “The Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums Project: Bringing LIS Students Together with American Indian Communities to Learn through Sharing and Community” at MAC last week in Kansas City. We enjoyed your thoughtful questions and really look forward to continuing our conversation about archives, LIS education, and successful partnerships with Indigenous communities in the future!
Until then, here are a few materials we referenced in our presentation…
Recommendations:
Recognize our own unique cultural lenses
Have humility
Remember to use head and heart
Learn about tribal communities
Get out of the office – visit tribal communities
Maintain contact – keep in touch
Make sure it’s mutually beneficial – give as much as you receive
Make sure your American Indian collections are accessible to tribal communities
Study successful partnerships using culturally-sensitive protocols
Support service-learning in LIS programs
Keep discussions of cultural diversity alive within the information professions
Be patient
Respect tribal sovereignty
Be genuine, authentic
Remember that relationships always come first
Syllabi:
- Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museum (LIS 640), Spring 2013 Syllabus
- Topics in Library & Information Studies: Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums Field Project, Summer 2013
Resources:
- Protocols for Native American Archival Materials
- Walk Softly and Listen Carefully: Building Research Relationships with Tribal Communities
- Christen, K. (2011). Opening archives: Respectful Repatriation. American Archivist 74(1): 185-210.
- Lonetree, A. (2012). Decolonizing museums: Representing native America in national and tribal museums. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Available here.