The Stone Soup Approach to Building a Tribal Archive

March 24, 2021 | Cherity Bacon

Native Communities have a shared history of trauma at the hands of colonization, wherein Indigenous Communities have been stripped of their culture and collective memory. While every attempt was made to, “kill the Indian, save the man”, Native People became subjects of study and a great number of tangible historical and cultural materials have been locked away from their communities of origin, removed from all context and made available for the scholars to interpret, or misinterpret as they wished. In recent years, however, Archives have increasingly begun to work with Indigenous Communities to decolonize these institutions by including proper descriptions and context and creating accessibility policies that comply with cultural protocols. While this is a step in the right direction, much of the tangible culture and history of Native People remains out of their care and control, and access to these materials continues to elude them. In response, an increasing number of Native Communities, including the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, have determined that their best course of action was to create their own Tribal Archives.

Working from the belief that knowledge of one’s culture and history is a vital component of sovereignty and self-determination, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians embarked on their journey to create a Tribal Archive that was not only accessible to the entirety of the San Manuel Community, but would solely serve the needs of their community in accordance with their established cultural protocols. In so doing, the collection would need to be a combination of materials that were already in the Tribe’s possession, and copies of collections that are held in other repositories across the country. With this idea in mind, a Mission Statement and Policies and Procedures were drafted, setting the framework and the prescribed course of action for bringing the Archive into fruition. Next on the agenda, was to gather the necessary equipment for processing and cataloging collections. In these early days, we had one Archivist, a small budget, very little space, a single computer with an all-in-one printer/scanner, museum cataloging software, and a few shelves. With so few resources, it was clear that we would need to be creative in order to build a fully functional Tribal Archive, so we opted to take a “Stone Soup” approach to building and processing our collections. Much like the famed children’s book, we have created a Tribal Archive through the process of developing partnerships and sharing resources with other Tribal Communities, Universities, and Archives.

Using the “Stone Soup” model, we located collections in other Archives that were of interest and would barter with our partners in order to create a plan for obtaining and processing the records that would be mutually beneficial. For example, one Archive had a historic photo collection that was of interest to the San Manuel Community, but the cost for a copy set of the collection exceeded our available funds. After a short discussion, we agreed to digitize their collection in exchange for electronic copies free of charge. Since then, other partnerships have been created, wherein copies of records have been provided in exchange for a processed and arranged version of the collection, transcripts of the collection, or even digitization services. While each Archive has their own individual needs and their motivation to negotiate varies, digitization tends to rank very highly across the board. This is because Archives are typically understaffed and they simply do not have the time to digitize collections, or perhaps they do not have the equipment needed to digitize certain types of media. 

Whatever the motivation is to negotiate, this cooperative model ensures that we need not be limited by our equipment, funding, or staffing. Of course, the benefits of working within this construct extends beyond a simple exchange of goods and services. Perhaps the greatest benefit of creating a cooperative network is the level of expertise your partners bring to the table. As your relationships evolve, you will find that your colleagues have a wealth of experience and technical skills to share with you. One partner may be highly skilled at digitizing technically obsolete media, while another is highly knowledgeable of preservation methodologies, or of the locations of existing collections of interest. The benefits are limitless, but where should you begin?

Although there are several organizations, including the Society of American Archivists (SAA), that provide opportunities to meet and network with other Archive professionals and find educational resources, the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums (ATALM) is the only organization that specifically addresses the needs of Indigenous institutions and the care and management of cultural materials. Their yearly conferences have a wide array of sessions and round-table discussions that provide instruction on the care and curation of cultural materials, implementing the Protocols for Native American Materials, addressing cultural sensitivity issues, grant opportunities, managing access, and methodologies for digitizing collections, just to name a few. ATALM attendees range from novices who are just beginning their careers, to seasoned professionals with lots of wisdom to share, but they all gather for the shared purpose of celebrating Indigenous heritage and supporting one another in their endeavors to preserve it.

Opening a Tribal Archive is full of challenges and there are a great deal of things to take into consideration before embarking on your journey. Funding, staff, space, available resources, collections building, and identifying cultural protocols may seem overwhelming at first glance, but by taking things one step at a time and developing a strong support network, you will find that the task ahead is manageable and sustainable. Remember that you are part of a growing community; a community who believes that our greatest success lies in helping others to succeed. As Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” 

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