[nativestudies-l] Comments Sought - Protocols for Native American Archival Materials

[Alyssa Mt. Pleasant]

Hello!

The Society of American Archivists is asking for comments from the 
archives community on the Protocols for Native American Archival 
Materials. I am forwarding this call for comments (which was likewise 
forwarded to me by a colleague), in case there are others on the Native 
Studies list who would like to submit their thoughts.

The call is also available online at 
http://archivists.org/news/2007-NatAmerProtocols.asp

Some colleagues have also suggested that a formal declaration from other 
groups-- organizations of scholars, historians, etc. whether local, 
regional, or national-- would also be helpful and bear some weight in 
promoting consideration of the protocols by professional groups like the 
Society of American Archivists. With that in mind, if you know 
organizations who would feel strongly about the issues that the 
protocols speak to-- namely, how Native American archival materials are 
handled, described and made accessible in non-Native institutions-- 
please forward this call and urge them to consider issuing a public 
statement of support. I would be happy to forward any such statements to 
SAA Council and the Task Force mentioned in the announcement.

Best wishes,
Kathleen

Kathleen Burns, Archivist
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Yale University


>
>
> TO:      SAA Leaders
> FR:       The SAA Council
> DT:      November 26, 2007
> RE:       Comment Sought on Native American Protocols Document
>  
> The SAA Council is seeking widespread comment from the archives 
> community on "Protocols for Native American Archival Materials" 
> [http://www2.nau.edu/libnap-p/protocols.html], a draft document 
> developed by a group of Native American and non-Native American 
> archivists, librarians, museum curators, historians, and 
> anthropologists who gathered for a conference at Northern Arizona 
> University in April 2006.
>  
> The Protocols were presented to the SAA Council for endorsement at its 
> August 28, 2007, meeting.  In response, the Council has formed a Task 
> Force -- comprising Frank Boles (chair and SAA vice president), David 
> George-Shongo (The Seneca Nation of Indians), and Christine Weideman 
> (Yale University) -- that is charged with 1) contacting SAA sections, 
> roundtables, committees, and working groups to invite their formal 
> comments on the Protocols and 2) gathering comments from the broader 
> SAA membership via posting of the Protocols on the SAA website by 
> November 26.  Information about the Protocols and this comment period 
> are being disseminated via email messages to the Leader List and the 
> full membership.  The Task Force will summarize the comments received 
> and report that summary to the Council for consideration at its 
> meeting in early February.
*The deadline for comments is December 17, 2007.   Comments should be 
forwarded to Task Force Chair Frank Boles via email to 
boles1fj at cmich.edu <mailto:boles1fj at cmich.edu>.*
>   *
> *The SAA Council is taking the opportunity to disseminate widely, and 
> call broadly for comment on, the Protocols because the Protocols 
> encompass some significant and substantial changes in archival theory 
> and practice (such as: giving Native American communities authority to 
> restrict access to collections not only unrestricted by the donor but 
> open and used by researchers for many decades past; and noting 
> expectations for repatriation of certain material similar to that 
> required under the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation 
> Act [NAGPRA]).  On the other hand, the Protocols include a wide range 
> of actions that repositories can take to show respect for Native 
> American people, some of which are already within traditional archival 
> best practices (for example: informing Native American communities 
> that one's repository holds research collections related to their 
> culture is basic outreach; working with Native American communities to 
> ensure that relevant collections take account of their perspective in 
> descriptions not only balances what may be culturally biased or 
> offensive descriptions, but increases the research value of the 
> collections by adding additional context).
>  
> At a minimum, the SAA Council believes that the Protocols give the 
> archives profession the chance to examine its practices in light of a 
> now global effort on the part of native populations to reclaim certain 
> ethical and legal rights over property, at least some of which was 
> acquired from them or created about them under circumstances that 
> would not be tolerated today.  Native peoples around the globe have 
> been involved in negotiating partnerships with the scholarly 
> communities in their nations for changed relationships toward 
> stewardship of human remains, recognition of indigenous intellectual 
> property rights, and other cultural stewardship issues.  To be sure, 
> however, such negotiations have not been without difficulties, and 
> thoughtful critics have emerged to challenge some indigenous 
> claims.^[1] <??>  The archives profession should enter this 
> conversation with as deep and broad a perspective as possible, 
> benefiting from the theory and practice of other professions.  
> Archivists are being asked to join anthropologists, archeologists, 
> ethnobotanists, and other professionals in examining their past and 
> current practices in regard to Native populations.^[2]    Nor are all 
> the issues raised by the Protocols -- even the most difficult ones -- 
> entirely new to archival discourse.  Journal articles focused on the 
> relationship of majority culture to immigrant communities raise some 
> of the same concerns about cultural sovereignty as are raised by the 
> Protocols.^[3]
>  
> On first reading -- and perhaps more fundamentally -- the Protocols 
> challenge not only traditional archival practice but the heuristics on 
> which it is built.  The Protocols raise questions such as whether 
> traditional Western norms of study and knowledge are the only 
> legitimate ones.  In a postmodern and pluralistic world, is it less 
> tenable to assert that there is only one true way of knowing the 
> past?  What seems clear is that in a diverse society and a diverse 
> profession, frank consideration of even controversial requests is 
> required -- not simply as a matter of respect for the framers of the 
> Protocols, but for the cultural majority to have the most rigorous 
> analysis possible of its own theories and practices in the 
> increasingly complex 21^st century.  If we are truly faced with two 
> contradictory world views and methods of archival practice, compromise 
> will be difficult.  But if difficult, not necessarily impossible.  
> There is much that frank self-assessment (Do we do things just because 
> we've always done them or based on bedrock first principles?), active 
> understanding (If we are inclined to repudiate another's position, are 
> we certain that we understand it fully?), and mutual goodwill may be 
> able to accomplish.
>  
> The introduction to the Protocols states
>  
> The contributors to these North American best practices hope that the 
> lines of communication opened by this work will serve as the genesis 
> for an ongoing national discussion around different approaches to the 
> management, preservation, and transmission of Native American 
> knowledge and information resources.  These Protocols urge archivists 
> and librarians to consider Native American perspectives on 
> professional policy and practical issues....  New issues for 
> consideration will undoubtedly arise as the best practices are debated 
> and implemented.  The contributors intend this document to be a work 
> in progress­subject to revision and enhancement.  North American 
> libraries, archives, and American Indian communities will benefit from 
> embracing the power of conversation, cooperation, education, 
> negotiation, and compromise. ...it takes human connections to make 
> positive changes happen.
>  
> The SAA Council supports this call for consideration, "conversation, 
> cooperation, education, negotiation, and compromise." We hope that the 
> process of widespread professional comment and discussion informing 
> the Council's deliberation this winter will form the basis for 
> thoughtful and respectful discussion among majority-culture archivists 
> and between them and their Native American colleagues.  Although the 
> Protocols form the crux of the conversation, it is possible that they 
> are not the end but the beginning of that discussion. 
>  
> We hope that you will take the time to read the Protocols document, 
> consider it thoughtfully, and share your perspectives with the Task 
> Force.  Thank you.
> *
> *
*The deadline for comments is December 17, 2007.*  *Please direct your 
comments to SAA Vice President Frank Boles at boles1fj at cmich.edu 
<mailto:boles1fj at cmich.edu>.*
>  
> ________
>  
> ^[1] See, for example, Cressida Fforde, Jane Hubert, and Paul Trumble, 
> eds /The Dead and Their Possessions:  Repatriation in Principle, 
> Policy, and Practice/ (New York, 2002) and Mary Riley, ed, /Indigenous 
> Intellectual Property Rights:  Legal Obstacles and Innovative 
> Solutions/ (New York, 2004), both of which presents case studies from 
> around the globe.  A critique of many of the arguments expressed in 
> these two volumes can be found in Michael F. Brown, /Who Owns Native 
> Culture?/ (Cambridge, 2003).
> ^2 For example, the Society of American Archeologists (another SAA) 
> now includes in its ethical principles:  "Responsible archeological 
> research, including all levels of professional activity, requires an 
> acknowledgement of public accountability and a commitment to make 
> every reasonable effort, in good faith, to consult actively with 
> affected group(s), with the goal of establishing a working 
> relationship that can be beneficial to all parties involved" (2000).  
> Quoted in Larry J. Zimmerman, "A decade after the Vermillion Accord:  
> What Has Changed and What Has Not?" /The Dead and Their Possessions:  
> Repatriation in Principle, Policy, and Practice,/ p. 94.
> ^3 For only the most recent example of this, see Joel Wurl, "Ethnicity 
> as Provenance:  In Search of Values and Principles for Documenting the 
> Immigrant Experience," /Archival Issues/, 29:1 (2005), pp. 65-76.
>  


--
Kathleen Burns, Archivist
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Yale University
email: kathleen.burns at yale.edu
phone: (203) 432-7328


BEINECKE BLOGS
Poetry at Beinecke Library :: http://beineckepoetry.wordpress.com
African American Studies at Beinecke Library :: http://beineckejwj.wordpress.com
Room 26 Cabinet of Curiosities :: http://brblroom26.wordpress.com



--
Kathleen Burns, Archivist
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Yale University
email: kathleen.burns at yale.edu
phone: (203) 432-7328


BEINECKE BLOGS
Poetry at Beinecke Library :: http://beineckepoetry.wordpress.com
African American Studies at Beinecke Library :: http://beineckejwj.wordpress.com
Room 26 Cabinet of Curiosities :: http://brblroom26.wordpress.com


-- 
Kathleen Burns, Archivist
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Yale University
email: kathleen.burns at yale.edu
phone: (203) 432-7328


BEINECKE BLOGS
Poetry at Beinecke Library :: http://beineckepoetry.wordpress.com
African American Studies at Beinecke Library :: http://beineckejwj.wordpress.com
Room 26 Cabinet of Curiosities :: http://brblroom26.wordpress.com

-- 

 

 

	

 

 

Alyssa Mt. Pleasant, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

	

 

American Studies Program

Yale University

P.O. Box 208236
New Haven, CT 06520-8236

 

203-436-8169

 

	

Department of History

Yale University
P.O. Box 208324
New Haven, CT 06520-8324

alyssa.mt.pleasant at yale.edu <mailto:alyssa.mt.pleasant at yale.edu>

 

	

 

*/Neka ne ne hera teh/*

	

 

 

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