Haŋ, mitákuyepi, čhaŋté waštéya napé čhiyuzapi. Baylee LaCompte emačíyapi. Íŋyaŋ Woslál Háŋ Oyáŋke, na Húŋkpapȟa é na Sičháŋǧu Lakȟóta Oyáte emátaŋhaŋ. Matȟó Akíčhita naíŋš Makáȟleča él wathí, na Matȟó Očhíŋšiča Thiyóšpaye emátaŋhaŋ. Iná Anna McLaughlin ečíyapi na atéwaye kiŋ Dale LaCompte ečíyapi. Thuŋkášila Michael LaCompte é na Phillip McLaughlin Sr. ewičhakiyapi. Uŋčí Eileen Buckmier-LaCompte é na Garnet Little Bear-McLaughlin ewičhakiyapi.
Hello, my friends and relatives; I shake your hand with good feelings in my heart. My name is Baylee LaCompte. I am a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and Camps at the End of the Horn and Burnt Thigh are my bands. I reside permanently in Bear Soldier, also known as McLaughlin, South Dakota, and come from the Mad Bear Extended Family. My mother is Anna McLaughlin, and my father is Dale LaCompte. My grandfathers are Michael LaCompte and the late Phillip McLaughlin Sr. My grandmothers are Eileen Buckmier-LaCompte and the late Garnett Little Bear-McLaughlin.
I received my dual bachelor's degrees in American Indian Studies and Human Services (Justice Studies) with a minor in Psychology from Black Hills State University, Spearfish, South Dakota, in 2019. I am in my final semester at Arizona State University pursuing the American Indian Studies (Indigenous Rights and Social Justice) (MS). My research areas include Federal Indian Law and Policy, Sacred Sites, and Lakota Language.
The MS in AIS is a transdisciplinary program focusing on protecting and strengthening oral history, traditional knowledge, Indian sovereignty, self-determination, and human rights. The Indigenous Rights and Social Justice concentration explores the historical dimensions of colonization on American Indian political, economic, and cultural institutions. As students, we analyze the legal, political, and social implications of American Indian relationships with federal, state, and local government. In addition, we investigate processes that American Indian nations and community members use to strategize and work toward social justice and Indigenous rights. We also acquire an understanding of US Indian law and policy, colonization/decolonization, and nation-building.
I chose Archival studies as my practicum because of the work and legacy of Vine Deloria Jr. His work holds pertinence. He was one of the first intellectuals to talk about decolonization and the concept of colonialism. Specifically, in chapter 4 of Custer Died for Your Sins (1988), Vine expresses his distrust of anthropologists "anthros" and other friends hence, the chapter's name. He questioned their motives and had strong feelings about outsiders exploiting our traditional knowledge and not giving back to the people. Therefore, he believed the fundamental motive of an anthropologist is that people are objects for observation for manipulation and are viewed as a vanishing race. Secondly, Archives are a foreign concept not only to me but my as well nation. Notably, the Labriola National American Indian Data Center identifies and addresses the relevant issues of cultural exploitation and data sovereignty, which accompany my practicum requirements for my program.
An archive is a place where people gather primary sources. It refers to valuable records of materials with a common theme, such as letters, photographs- of people, collections, sound recordings, textual records, and audio-visual records. These records are documentation of the past that are utilized to understand history. The institution is responsible for the care, control, and preservation of archival records for the repository in which the materials are stored.
Archive resource #1: https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/about/definitions.html
Archive resource #2: https://siarchives.si.edu/blog/just-what-archives-anyway
An archivist is an individual responsible for managing and overseeing an archival repository or records of value. They are responsible for appraising, acquiring, arranging, describing, preserving, and providing access to the materials. In addition, archivists are trained to preserve the original materials. There are different types of archivists: archives technicians, archives specialists, conservators, and records managers.
Archivist job position #1: https://www.boisestate.edu/hrs-job-levels-job-standards/job-standard-for-library-archivist-associate/
Archivist job position #2: