#indigenousarchives

[uwmadarchives]

Native American Series - A Climate of Protest in the 1970′s and 80′s

Our archival holdings become more robust in the later half of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1970′s, both Native students and Native members of the Madison community took part in a steadily increasing number of public protests and acts of civil disobedience. 

In 1972, hundreds marched from Keshena, Wisconsin to Madison to protest the sale of Menominee land despite treaty restrictions. Pictured below is the culmination of a ten day march from Keshena to Madison, Columbus Day, October 12, 1972.

Image:  Native American protest against Menominee land sale, S00452

The Menominee community remained central to protest actions in the 1970′s. When two Menominee tribal members were murdered by Sheriff Kenneth Fish on February 2nd, 1976, large groups of activists marched on the capitol to protest then Governor Patrick Lucey’s light handling of the killing. The activists are pictured below in the State Capitol building. The Archives has several photographs of Native protests during this period.

Image:  Menominee protest at the State Capitol, S00459

In 1973, Native issues on campus came to a head when the University moved to close the Afro-American and Native American Cultural Centers (citing funding issues that many students found unsatisfactory). Pictured below is part of a series of protests throughout 1973 to try and save the Cultural Centers. 

Image: Cultural Centers protest, S00710 

The climate for Natives in Wisconsin remained tense throughout the 1970′s and 1980′s. The fishing rights controversy raging in nearby Northern Wisconsin spurred a number of protests on campus (For a very brief introduction on the Spearfishing Treaty Controversy, Milwaukee Public Museum’s summary).

This is the fourth post in a continuing series where we will explore the archive’s collection on Native Americans and consider how we, as an archive, can do better in preserving this history.

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This post was originally drafted by former Archives Student Assistant Emily Lobenstein and updated by former Archives Student Assistant Dani Fulwiler.

[uwmadarchives]

Native American Series - Difficulties in the Archive

Native Americans have a long and important history in Wisconsin and at the University. In his article “Recasting the Narrative of America: The Rewards and Challenges of Teaching American Indian History,” Yale History professor and Te-Moak tribe member Ned Blackhawk writes that “with eleven federally recognized tribes, Wisconsin remains central to America’s Indian past. The Western center of the Great Lakes fur-trading empires, the nineteenth-century home to thousands of Algonquian, Siouan, and Iroquoian speakers, and the site of several of the most intense political standoffs in the twentieth century, Wisconsin has always been and remains ‘Indian country’.” 

You wouldn’t know it looking through the University archives. The history of natives on campus and in the community has not been properly recognized or preserved. 

There are several reasons as to why the archive has so little documentation of Native Americans on campus. Racist notions of what does or does not constitute an important historical document undoubtedly played a role in the selection of archived material. More benign issues with cataloging and metadata also prevented an accurate accounting of Native contributions to the University. These benign issues remain a problem in the archive even as archivists try to work against these structural missteps. 

Our oldest records of Native Americans on campus are two admissions papers from 1903 and 1904. These admissions papers illustrate the difficulties the archive has faced cataloging the Native American presence on campus.  

Thomas St. Germaine, born 1880, applied for admission to the University of Wisconsin in 1904. We know he was Native American only because early admission papers noted the nationality of the applicants’ parents. They were noted here only as “Indian”, no tribal affiliation was included. St. Germaine was admitted and played football throughout his time in Madison. He is pictured below with the team in 1906 (second from left, second row from top).

William Milton Baine, born 1876, applied for admission in 1903. Once again, his admissions papers are the clue to his background. His father was Scotch Iris and his mother is listed as “Indian (Sioux)”. He, too, was admitted, but our collection has no more information about his time in Madison. This practice of identifying nationality on admissions papers ended in the 1930′s, leaving many Native students unidentified as such in the archive. 

What can be done to rectify this? Debates within the archivist community put heavy emphasis on creating diverse and inclusive metadata (for a look at one such debate, see this American Library Association's annual conference panel on diverse and inclusive metadata). 

However, metadata is most useful for new material coming into the archive. The problem of properly cataloging and identifying Natives already in the University Archives is a much more difficult one. There is no simple answer to this problem. Identifying students in photographs based on physical appearance is hugely problematic and not an effective way forward. It seems that our best approach is to ensure that any new material is properly cataloged. 

This is the second post in a continuing series where we will explore the archive’s collection on Native Americans and consider how we, as an archive, can do better in preserving this history.

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This post was originally drafted by former Archives Student Assistant Emily Lobenstein and updated by former Archives Student Assistant Dani Fulwiler.

[uwmadarchives]

Native American Series- Archives Student Perspective

By Dani Fulwiler (she/her/hers)

As an undergraduate, I decided that one of my majors (along with history and humanities) would be in First Nation Studies. It is through my work that I did and the mentors I gained from that program that I ended up at UW-Madison’s iSchool. My mentor who is alumni from UW-Madison himself told me about the TLAM (Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums) class and the student organization that the iSchool offered. He highly recommended that I apply to iSchool so I could continue the work I had started during my undergrad. So essentially one of the biggest reasons I ended up at UW-Madison’s iSchool is because of TLAM.

Image: Dani with Kristen Whiston, George Greendeer, and Josie Lee after participating in the Innovation in Cultural Preservation Partnerships panel

The TLAM class is offered every spring and focuses on service learning projects throughout the entire semester. Students are taught about Indigenous people, knowledge, and worldviews and how all of that works within libraries, archives, and museums. The project I worked on was with the Hoocąk Waaziija Haci Language Division to process their various forms of language materials and work with Ho-Chunk Elders to transcribe materials. The TLAM student org, which I became an officer of my second year, focused on maintaining the relationships built from the TLAM class service learning projects. Students would volunteer time to continue the work started. The org would also host events such as touring the mounds of Madison or attending lecture series by Indigneous speakers.

During my time at the iSchool I have been given various opportunities to continue the work I was doing during my undergrad. I took the TLAM class and was a part of the Hoocąk Waaziija Haci Language Division service learning project. My practicum through Curating Community Digital Collections was with the College of Menominee Nation S. Verna Fowler Academic Library where I wrote digital preservation policies and worked on metadata for various collections. From my time at Hoocąk Waaziija Haci Language Division I was asked to be a part of the Innovation in Cultural Preservation panel as part of the Our Shared Future initiative at UW-Madison. Lastly, I was fully funded to attend the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) conference in Temecula, California.

Image: Sign for the library at College of Menominee Nation main campus

The panel that I was in was a part of a series that the University offered in conjunction with putting up the “Our Shared Future” plaque and displaying it throughout campus to acknowledge the atrocities the University has committed against Ho-Chunk Nation. You can find more information about it here.

Image: Our Shared Future plaque on display at UW-Madison’s College Library

ATALM was the most amazing experience. At this conference, I was able to meet various professionals in the field, listen and learn from Indigenous speakers, and given current and real-life experiences and issues in the information field. By attending ATALM, I received training on Mukurtu by its creator. Mukurtu is a free online and open-source platform built with Indigenous communities to manage and share digital cultural heritage. It was so awesome to learn from all these amazing people.

Image: Dani at the ATALM conference receiving training on Mukurtu from the creator

My time at the University Archives as a processing assistant focused on Non-Native materials until the pandemic happened. While I worked from home I was given the Native American series project to work on. I got to explore all our collections to see what the Archives has and bring it to light. While I’m not ending my time at the University Archives the way I planned, I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to finish out working on something I’m passionate about. To say I’ll miss the archives is an understatement.

This is the final post in the continuing series where we explored the archive’s collection on Native Americans and considered how we, as an archive, can do better in preserving this history.

[uwmadarchives]

Native American Series - Oral History Program

By Dani Fulwiler (she/her/hers)

Oral Histories at the University Archives is a big deal. We have a dedicated program lead by Troy Reeves that currently encompasses over 1,500 interviews that touch on all aspects of the University’s history. This includes two oral histories by former faculty of the American Indian Studies program: Ada Deer and Gary Sandefur.

Image: Ada Deer, photograph by Norman Lenburg, September 7, 1978, S13856

Ada Deer, a member of the Menominee Nation, is an advocate and scholar who was an activist opposing the federal termination of tribes in the 1970’s. She served as assistant secretary of interior, head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, delegate to the United Nations Humans Rights committee, ran for the United States Congress, and so much more. During her time at UW- Madison she taught in the School of Social Work and served as the director of the American Indian Studies department. She continues to do work on the UW campus by participating in the Distinguished Lecture series and holds Emerita status and was the inaugural elder-in-resident at UW-Madison.

Image: Ada Deer, S13858

If you’d like to learn more about Ada and the amazing work she has done, listen to her oral history, visit her page at Wisconsin Women Making History, and check out her book Making a Difference: My Fight for Native Rights and Social Justice.

Image: Gary Sandefur, American Indian studies, photo by Jeff Miller, S09729

Gary Sandefur, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, is a scholar who has focused his work on public policy and populations. He has written many works on racial inequality, American Indians, and family based issues. At UW- Madison he served as Professor of Sociology, Associate Vice Chancellor, Interim Provost and Director of the American Indian Studies program. He was the first American Indian to be named Dean of Letters and Sciences at UW- Madison. He now serves as Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at Oklahoma State University.

Image: Gary Sandefur with students, photo by Jeff Miller, S09732

Currently, Dr. Sandefur’s Oral History Program interview is restricted and will be until 2031. However, he has various publications and books available. A list of his books can be found here.

This is the fifth post in a continuing series where we will explore the archive’s collection on Native Americans and consider how we, as an archive, can do better in preserving this history.

[uwmadarchives]

Native American Series - What We Do Have

While still sparse, the archive’s material on Native Americans does contain some key documentation about watershed events in the history of Native Americans in Wisconsin and across the country. We have photographs of the 1914 meeting of the Society of Native Americans on UW’s campus in Madison.

Image: American Indian conference, S07727

The conference, comprised of some 50 prominent Native American leaders and activists from all across the country, met on the steps of Lathrop Hall to mark the 4th annual meeting of the Society. The group, made up primarily of doctors, lawyers, and public officials, met to discuss the problems with the current reservation system and to argue for U.S. citizenship for Native Americans. In 1914, Native Americans were legally wards of the Federal government, not citizens. The group that gathered sought to influence Federal policy, but they also forged a relationship with the University as a result of this meeting. 

Some at the University now believed that the Wisconsin Idea need not exclude Native communities in the state and strove to expand research on these communities. A few UW professors reached out to reservations in the hope of strengthening ties. However, the University’s previous actions gave Native communities little reason to trust their intentions. The University long spearheaded intrusive agricultural practices near Native land and without regard for Native traditions. 

Unfortunately, Native communities in Wisconsin initially benefited very little from this new relationship. The scholars researching these Native communities produced much of the extractive scholarship Patty Loew condemned in her work on the subject. However, this meeting fundamentally changed the way the University viewed nearby Native American communities. 

Despite less than promising results for local Native communities, members of the Menominee tribe did receive some small, tangible benefit as a result of new connections with the University. 

Image: Unveiling of the mount table, Vilas Park Hill, S10363

Pictured above is Sara Mallon of the Menominee tribe overseeing the placement of a mound marker on Vilas Park Hill. This act of commemoration allowed for some reclamation of Native land stolen by the state of Wisconsin. 

This is the third post in a continuing series where we will explore the archive’s collection on Native Americans and consider how we, as an archive, can do better in preserving this history.

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This post was originally drafted by former Archives Student Assistant Emily Lobenstein and updated by former Archives Student Assistant Dani Fulwiler.

[everydaymujeres]

@elifarinango Eli & Nina, c1996. Turtle Island My cousin Nina and I setting up our own booth with artesanías with the goal of making money to go on a ferry ride and get candy while our parents worked at their booths at the street festivals. An archival image of two young Mindalaes doing their thing in the early 1990s. Los Viernes compartimos fotografías de nuestres seguidores. Usa el hashtag #everydaymujeres #nativesphotograph #womenphotograph #everydaymujeres #documentary #indigenousarchives #fotofemmeunited #runakawsay #indigenousphotographers (at Turtle Island) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKogvMlAz2f/?igshid=b3vokjyb39nz