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Post #6: Being Attentive to Culturally-Sensitive Collections in Special Collection and Archival Spaces

 

In Ellen M. Ryan’s Identifying Culturally Sensitive American Indian Material in a Non-tribal Institution (2014), the accessibility to the contents of a collection pertaining to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho found within the Special Collections and Archives of Idaho State University are called into question. This collection, the “J.A. Youngren Papers,” includes photographs of Shoshone-Bannock practices such as the “Sun Dance” (a ceremony of the Great Plains tribes) taken and acquired by the university in the early 20th century without the consent of Shoshone-Bannock members.[1] In 2013, an undergraduate student and sun dancer tasked with processing and housing these photographs took note of the rituals captured within the photographs and the problematic nature of displaying these photographs online without the consent of tribal members. He thus brought this concern up to the Head of Special Collections of ISU and the photos were soon after shown to the Fort Hall Tribal Archivist and its Ancestral Researcher to configure future accessibility and care of the collections respectful of the tribes wishes.[2] The outreach shown by the student and ISU Special Collections staff adheres to positive ethical practices as it acknowledged the accessibility preferences for the collection Shoshone-Bannock Tribes whereas the original donor did not. However, if the student researcher did not notify the Head of the Special Collections of the problematic nature of allowing open access to these photos without tribal consent, when would this issue have been brought into light? With an increased understanding of past archival practices and mistakes such as open access to culturally-sensitive photographs, archivist can be more active in practicing cation when providing the public access to these collections in the future. Having extensive knowledge of who donated a collection and whether the groups mentioned in these collections provided consent for the measures of access in place can be a good place to start.


[1] Ellen M. Ryan, Identifying Culturally Sensitive American Indian Material, SAA Case Studies in Archival Ethics, 2014, https://www2.archivists.org/sites/all/files/AmericanIndianMaterial_CEPC-CaseStudy3.pdf, 2.

[2] Ibid., 4.

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