Adopting Principles in Indigenous Archival Repatriation as a New SAA Standard

University Libraries (University of Maryland) · 2026-01-01

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) Archival Repatriation Committee is pleased to announce that the SAA Council approved Principles in Indigenous Archival Repatriation (PINAR) as a professional standard on August 24, 2025. PINAR marks the culmination of a two-year effort, launched in 2022, to create professional guidance supporting the ethical return of archival materials to Indigenous communities.

Adopting Principles in Indigenous Archival Repatriation as a New SAA Standard

University Libraries (University of Maryland) · 2026-02-24

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) Archival Repatriation Committee is pleased to announce that the SAA Council approved Principles in Indigenous Archival Repatriation (PINAR) as a professional standard on August 24, 2025. PINAR marks the culmination of a two-year effort, launched in 2022, to create professional guidance supporting the ethical return of archival materials to Indigenous communities.

Persisting through friction: growing a community driven knowledge infrastructure

Archival Science · 2024-01-26 · 3 citations

Abstract Many memory institutions hold heritage items belonging to Indigenous peoples. There are current efforts to share knowledge about these heritage items with their communities; one way this is done is through digital access. This paper examines The Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures (GRASAC), a network of researchers, museum professionals, and community members who maintain a digital platform that aggregates museum and archival research on Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Huron-Wendat cultures into a centralized database. The database, known as the GRASAC Knowledge Sharing System (GKS), is at a point of infrastructural growth, moving from a password protected system to one that is open to the public. Rooted in qualitative research from semi-structured interviews with the creators, maintainers, and users of the database, we examine the frictions in this expanding knowledge infrastructure (KI), and how they are eased over time. We find the friction within GRASAC resides in three main categories: collaborative friction, data friction, and our novel contribution: systemic friction.

“It's your curse”: Perspectives on Philippine human remains in US museums

Museum Anthropology · 2024

• Sociology
• History
• Genealogy

Abstract This article examines the ethical, cultural, and legal challenges surrounding the collection and repatriation of Philippine human remains housed in US museums, with a particular focus on the University of Michigan's Museum of Anthropological Archaeology (UMMAA). Using a participatory focus group methodology, the research engages diverse stakeholders, including individuals of Filipino and Indigenous descent, community organizers, cultural and curatorial experts, and legal professionals, highlighting multifaceted perspectives on human remains from the Philippines. In examining materialist, cultural, spiritual, and legal angles, and ultimately underscoring the moral burden of holding such remains, the article advocates for reparative approaches toward improved curation, creation of culturally appropriate rituals, and meaningful engagement with both Philippine‐based and diasporic communities. These findings also contribute to broader discussions on reparative justice and decolonial methodologies in museum contexts by offering a nuanced perspective on the repatriation debate and proposing actionable steps even when immediate repatriation is not feasible.

Indigenous Digital Projects: An Assessment Framework

Information & Culture · 2024-03-01

What are the critical characteristics that we can use to assess Indigenous digital projects? We have examined the literature, developed an assessment framework, and used the framework to analyze twenty-one online platforms in order to answer this question. Our framework identifies five characteristics of Indigenous digital projects with accompanying evaluative questions: (1) traditional knowledge protection, (2) design and interaction, (3) description and classification, (4) community relationships, and (5) sustainability. Our analysis shows the range of work being done in this complex area of digital practice. Our goal is to offer a set of questions that encourage critical reflection, not a one-size-fits-all requirement checklist for those working on digital projects in cultural heritage institutions.

An archival world turns: Armenian women’s archives in Southeast Michigan

Archival Science · 2024-11-26 · 1 citations

This paper examines the nature and context of archival silences in two Armenian institutions in south-east Michigan and how those absences relate to the personal and family archives of Armenian women. We studied the dissonance between the representation of Armenian women’s voices and experiences in institutional archives and their larger role in the community as cultural linchpins and memory-keepers. Through interviews, archival research, participant observation, and abductive coding and analysis of both interview transcripts and fieldnotes, we uncover and theorize the significance behind those absences and the abundance of archival materials outside the institution. Each name in this research project has been changed to protect the privacy of our participants.

Reviving anthropology's past: Digital archival access and ethical collaboration with Indigenous communities

Anthropology Today · 2023-12-01 · 4 citations

This article outlines the revitalization of the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR) to adapt to the changing dynamics of archival data reuse in anthropology. It begins by examining the prevailing discourse on anthropological data, archives and their reuse, then explores interdisciplinary data curation trends. Recent initiatives include collaborations with Wikipedia and Wikidata and innovative design strategies to improve access to anthropological archives. The article also discusses the ethical and logistical challenges faced during this transformation. The overarching vision presented is to position CoPAR as a central hub that connects archivists, anthropologists and Indigenous communities, ensuring streamlined and ethical access to anthropological records in the digital realm.

Recordkeeping, logistics, and translation: a study of homeless services systems as infrastructure

Archival Science · 2023-02-03 · 8 citations

Homeless services systems provide unhoused individuals access to emergency shelter, subsidized housing, and other life-sustaining resources. In this paper, we present a qualitative study that draws on the experiences of fifteen social service workers to examine how recordkeeping practices sustain homeless services systems and unite a tangled web of institutions and actors, including public housing systems, nonprofit agencies, and local governments. We address the following research questions: How is the infrastructure of homeless services sustained by recordkeeping? How are social service workers affected by increasing recordkeeping demands? In what ways do social service workers work against or 'find the play' in this system? To address these questions, we collected interviews and conducted artifact walkthroughs with our study participants. We analyzed the data using an infrastructural lens and found that current recordkeeping practices within homeless services systems comprise an "infrastructure of last resort" that functions logistically, prioritizing efficiency and speed. We also found that social service workers "speak back" to logistification by making the homeless services infrastructure more legible to their unhoused clients through mediation and acts of translation that help to produce better resource outcomes. Our findings show how structuring recordkeeping in ways that privilege efficiency and speed disrupts social service work and interferes with social service workers' ability to provide care for vulnerable individuals facing life-altering and life-threatening hardships.

Evaluating Equity and Inclusion in Cultural Heritage Grantmaking: CLIR's Amplifying Unheard Voices Program

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2023-03-01

This report summarizes a yearlong program assessment of “Amplifying Unheard Voices,” a major revision of CLIR’s Digitizing Hidden Collections grant program. The revision sought to expand the reach and appeal of the program to a broader range of institutions, including independent and community organizations, and to emphasize the digitization of historical materials that tell the stories of groups underrepresented in the digital historical record. Significant changes were made to the application structure, new applicant support resources were created, eligibility was expanded to Canada, and new thematic emphases and program values were added. The assessment was based on a series of qualitative data-gathering activities that included stakeholder groups and staff. Through surveys and interviews of applicants, inquirers, proposal reviewers, and staff, the authors provide a holistic view of the program, offer a series of recommendations, and identify areas for further attention.

Reciprocity: Building a Discourse in Archives

The American Archivist · 2022-01-01 · 8 citations

ABSTRACT Increasing interest in indigenization, decolonization, community archives, and the recent adoption of the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials (PNAAM) by the Society of American Archivists, offer opportunities for archivists to reflect on the application of “reciprocity” in archives. This article examines reciprocity as a concept in the archival field and shows how current reciprocal practices in archives with Native and Indigenous holdings can inform the wider field and its practice. The authors chart the emergence of reciprocity as an archival responsibility and to create fieldwide change through meaningful, community-based partnerships. They posit a continuum of institutional reciprocity, as well as how reciprocity might be seeded into the core functions of archives to bridge distances between communities and archival institutions. Inspired by recent scholarship in museum studies, the article concludes with a vision of “otherwising” to explore alternative possibilities that can be realized when we adopt reciprocity as an archival practice.