Indigenous Languages and the Promise of Archives

Indigenous Languages and the Promise of Archives captures the energy and optimism that many feel about the future of community-based scholarship, which involves the collaboration of archives, scholars, and Native American communities. The American Philosophical Society is exploring new applications of materials in its library to partner on collaborative projects that assist the cultural and linguistic revitalization movements within Native communities. A paradigm shift is driving researchers to reckon with questionable practices used by scholars and libraries in the past to pursue documents relating to Native Americans, practices that are often embedded in the content of the collections themselves.

The Center for Native American and Indigenous Research at the American Philosophical Society brought together this volume of historical and contemporary case studies highlighting the importance of archival materials for the revitalization of Indigenous languages. Essays written by archivists, historians, anthropologists, knowledge-keepers, and museum professionals, cover topics critical to language revitalization work; tackle long-standing debates about ownership, access, and control of Indigenous materials stored in repositories; and suggest strategies for how to decolonize collections in the service of community-based priorities. Together these essays reveal the power of collaboration for breathing new life into historical documents.

Adrianna Link is the head of scholarly programs at the American Philosophical Society. She also serves as a managing editor of The History of Anthropology Review. Abigail Shelton is the outreach specialist on a collaborative cultural heritage project at the University of Notre Dame and previously served as the assistant to the librarian at the American Philosophical Society. Patrick Spero is the librarian and director of the American Philosophical Society's library and museum in Philadelphia. He is the author or editor of several books, including Frontier Rebels: The Fight for Independence in the American West, 1765-1776 and Frontier Country: The Politics of War in Early Pennsylvania.