Vine Deloria Jr. (Dakota Sioux) once said, "Every society needs educated people, but the primary responsibility of educated people is to bring wisdom back into the community and make it available to others so that the lives they are leading make sense." In other words, as Indigenous scholars, it is our sacred responsibility to obtain and protect knowledge, whether it be traditional or western, and share it with the next generation(s). Archivists are also responsible for protecting, preserving, and bringing awareness to their collections. There are various ways Archivists bring awareness to their collections, such as outreach programs and engagement. More specifically, Archivists can conduct workshops on training their community about archives, host a panel discussion on preservation, host a gallery exhibit on the collection, and host an open house on processed collections. The Jean Chaudhuri is an example of a gallery exhibit and community engagement. The Archives Wednesday: Chicano/a Research Collection is an example of an open house as we were allowed to ask questions and touch the materials.
The Chicano/a Research Collection open house was hosted inside Hayden Library's Wurzburger Reading Room. It was my first time in a reading room, and I noticed the lockers, pencils, the designated table for bags/food/drink, and the tables all spread out. The Curator utilized all six tables to display the materials such as books, documents, scrapbooks, and a dictionary. She talked about each piece of the collection in greater detail. I noticed almost every book was displayed on holders to protect the spines of each book. I also noticed each piece had a catalog card next to it, which helps users identify it. The two carousel books stood out most because they reminded me of pop-up books. I also learned that the story of Alice in Wonderland had been translated into various languages, and the collection had 35 different additions. Lastly, I found it interesting that the collection had Indigenous books, all pictures. It reminded me of my people's (the Lakota Sioux) Winter Counts, which we historically used as calendars.
In addition, Archivists can promote their collections by encouraging K-12 educators and undergraduate and graduate students to use primary sources. K-12 teachers in all subjects can use primary sources, especially if the material is digitized. I remember being introduced to primary and secondary sources in high school history class. However, in college, I began to analyze and use primary sources in my undergraduate history classes. Unfortunately, I was not encouraged or introduced to archival material until I started my graduate practicum/applied project at the Labriola National American Indian Data Center. As a result, I missed out on not using archival material in my research papers. Learning about archives now will help me become a better researcher and prepare for a Ph.D. or Law program in the future.
Archivists could bring awareness to their collections by creating a basic introduction to archives in the format of TikTok videos, Facebook posts, and Instagram posts. Secondly, provide a complete list of all the processed collections on their website and social media. Archivists could also collaborate with authors to write books based on archival materials. Archivists could also collaborate with movie producers and create movies based on archival materials and documentaries. Lastly, Archivists could establish a discussion panel on physical and digital archives.