Performing Archive

Resources for Working with Tribes and Tribal Members

Ulia Gosart, Independent scholar

How to locate a tribe and contact tribal members:

 
The Native American Consultation Database (NACD)

Indian Country defined

Federally recognized Indian tribes (Federal Register, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, August 2012) 

The Tribal Leaders Directory (BIA, Fall 2012)

Map of reservations and regional, agency and field offices (BIA)

National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (addressing cultural director or tribal preservation officer)

California Indian Legal Services
 

Research options:

Restricted data archives. 
The option allows partially/completely restricted access options and/or password protected items. Some items which are to be protected by means of restricted data access include those viewed as violating an/or compromising confidential character of some of the elements composing tribal heritage. Open access to these items may accentuate deterioration and/or illicit appropriation of the tribal cultural values. Some may contain sensitive data, and/or be considered non-public use images, open for viewing only to a selected audience, such as gender, family; for some cultural restrictions and confidentially might be applicable. Tribal members must be consulted on these issues, and/or have an option to provide an expert opinion/right to restrict access to those items. Archival platform: Mukurtu 

Consultation as a process of establishing the item authenticity. 
In some cases items depicting cultural objects might be described and/or defined in ways which provide information about the object that is outdated, misleading, and in some cases viewed as offensive. Consultation helps to establish the provenance of certain items, describe the items in ways which correspond to the vision/worldviews of peoples whose heritage the items comprise, and/or provide means for collaboration for future projects.

Research networks. 
By means of collaborative online research practices it became possible to involve the tribal members across geo-political barriers to support appropriate practices of caring an representing items of cultural significance, such as conducted by the Reciprocal Research Network (Canada): 

 

Other related records:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Protocols for Libraries, Archives, and Information Services

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Guide on Managing Intellectual Property for Museums 

WIPO Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Policy Statement (2000)
 
Federal Communications Commission (2004) "Best Practices," designed to assure that applicants have a timely way regarding Tribal concerns as they construct these networks and that Tribes have the ability to participate in the assessment and mitigation of any effects communications facilities construction may have on Tribal properties of cultural and religious significance.
 
United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) norms and instruments:

- WIPO Guide on Managing Intellectual Property for Museums 

- WIPO Study of the Legal Issues and Practical Options for Museums, Libraries and Archives




 

This page has paths: