MARCH 8, 2024

Reframing Indigenous Community Collections Stewardship

How do Indigenous communities define community-centered collections? How do we navigate the management, care, and access to Indigenous materials in a sector that is still defined by colonized standards that do not recognize Indigenous lifeways? How can we decolonize those standards in the areas of acquisition, description, organizational policies and procedures, and access and sharing? Please join our panelists for an in-depth community conversation on Indigenous community collections stewardship and learn more about how the museum and archival professions can help reframe how they engage and serve Indigenous communities.

This 90 minute community conversation was co-hosted by Museums Alaska and Selena Ortega-Chiolero, Museum Specialist for Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, through the generous support of the University of Virginia Rare Book School as part of its Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion and Cultural Heritage community symposia.

Conversation Panelists:

Angela Demma, Curator of Collections and Exhibits, Alaska Native Heritage Center

Halena Kapuni-Reynolds, Associate Curator on Native Hawaiian History and Culture, National Museum of the American Indian

Colleen Lucero, Managing Director, Hopivewat Learning Center

Monique Tyndall, Director of Cultural Affairs, Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans

Angela Wade, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and Department Director of Culture and Historic Preservation, Chickaloon Village Traditional Council

Moderator:

Vina Begay, Librarian, Arizona State University Library, Labriola National American Indian Data Center

MAY 23, 2023

The Evolving Practice of Reference and Access

In 2023, Society of American Archivists’ One Book, One Profession selection “Reference and Access for Archives and Manuscripts,” author Cheryl Oestreicher notes that as more people encounter archives for scholarly and avocational research, as part of creative pursuits, or to exercise their rights as citizens to access records, the possibilities for how collections are used will continually evolve. As a part of this, archivists will need to revise how we think about what we collect, who our audiences are, how we serve and engage patrons, and what efforts will make archives more accessible

A special panel gathered to discuss and build on the ideas in her book. Listen to panelists explore the challenges and successes of providing reference and access services in recent years, the creative ways they’ve connected with new and existing users, and emerging opportunities and trends in this central area of archival practice.

Presentation Panelists included:

Elaine DeNiro, Roswell Historical Society

Marie Force, Delta Flight Museum

Daria Labinsky, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Selena Ortega-Chiolero, Chickaloon Village Traditional Council - Nay’dini’aa Na’ Kayax

Moderated by Stacie Williams, Publications Editor, joined Cheryl Oestreicher

APRIL 26, 2022

Digital Collections at Your Library: Community, Culture, and Connection

Digital collections at your library can preserve local histories and artifacts at risk of being lost. They offer an opportunity to represent the diversity of stories and voices in your community likely missing from your physical collection. But they are resource-intensive, requiring new skills, technology, and an ongoing commitment to maintain them. Understanding the full lifecycle of digital stewardship is critical to successfully providing digital collections. In this webinar, practitioners shared how their digital collections have enabled their community members to connect with unique histories and cultures, increase appreciation of local history, and foster connections across generations. Attendees also learned about WebJunction’s new free course series, which will guide visitors through the lifecycle of digital stewardship from planning and gathering to saving and sharing digital collections—wherever your starting point is.

Presentation Panelists included:

Amanda McLaren, Director, Benzonia Public Library

Dale Musselman, Learning Manager, WebJunction, OCLC

Selena Ortega-Chiolero, Museum Specialist, Chickaloon Village Traditional Council

Mercy Procaccini, Senior Program Officer, Research Library Partnership, OCLCDescription goes here

DECEMBER 10, 2021

Colloquia for DAM Leaders: New Boundaries in Museums - An Exploration of Contemporary Issues and The Roles of Digital Asset Management

Uplift your professional practice and join us for a webinar exploring contemporary issues around museum equity, reparation, and their digital dimensions. We’ll explore and witness incremental shifts moving the museum field forward with bold new approaches to how digital asset and collections management supports these innovations.

First, social justice and DEI museum leader Monica O. Montgomery will discuss museum remedy: processes for engagement and repair, with guidance for equitable strategies in an evolving landscape of return. We then examine case studies of museums as better neighbors, sharing perspectives of three curators, working to boost social awareness around origins of sculptural and sacred items from Native American and African communities. Current exhibitions from the University of Michigan Museum of Art and a project partnership between the Anchorage Museum / Chickaloon Village Traditional Council are vibrant case studies, redefining ethics, intellectual property, and best practices around remedy.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

Unlearning Museum "Best" Practices to Build Community

The Museums Alaska 2021 Virtual Annual Conference hosted a guided conversation that provided attendees an opportunity to learn how five institutions are building stronger relationships with Native tribes by reframing collections care practices and how they do community outreach.

Conversation Panelists incuded:

Selena Ortega-Chiolero - Museum Specialist, Chickaloon Village Traditional Council

Dr. April Laktonen Counceller - Executive Director, Alutiiq Museum and Archeological Repository

Terry Snowball - Repatriation Coordinator, Smithsonian Institution

Steve Henrikson - Curator of Collections, Alaska State Museum

Brandon Castle - NAGPRA Assistant, Tongass National Forest

Dr. Kim Christen - Director, Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation, Washington State University

JUNE 15, 2021

Implementing Reparative Description for Indigenous Collections

Hosted by the SAA Native American Archives Section (NAAS), this discussion focused on implementing reparative description practices in archival collections. Topics addressed included:

• definitions of reparative description, especially as it relates to Native/Indigenous archival collections;

• the importance of reparative description, but also its limitations;

• contextualized reparative description within broader conversations happening inside and outside of the archives field;

• real-world examples from panelists’ experiences; and

• suggested resources that participants can consult to learn more.

JUNE 7, 2021

Mukurtu Workshop Panel Event

This 90-minute event focused on presentations about using Mukurtu CMS and meaningfully approaching privacy, confidentiality, restriction, and access concerns with Indigenous collections. A lively Q&A section followed the presentations.

Speakers: Selena Ortega-Chiolero, Jennifer O’Neal, and Cordelia Hooee

Hosted by the SAA Privacy and Confidentiality, Native American Archives, and Collection Management Sections, along with Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation at Washington State University