This blog post contains reflections from two University of Washington interns, Gem Bravo and Lourdes Periera. The reflections note their experience interning at the Labriola Center and their development in their profession as Indigenous librarians and archivists.
Reflections from Gem Bravo
Over the month of July, I interned with Vina Begay (Diné Nation), who is the Assistant Librarian and Archivist at the Labriola National American Indian Data Center. I was thrilled to be interning under Vina because I am specifically interested in how archives and libraries can be used to strengthen Tribal Sovereignty and return Indigenous knowledge to Tribal communities.
During my time as a graduate student at the University of Washington’s Library and Information Sciences program, I have read about the guidelines western institutions should use to protect and return Indigenous knowledge, like the Protocols of Native American Archival Materials (PNAAM) and the CARE Principles, but I knew I needed hands-on experience to learn what that process actually looked like. From everything I’ve heard, the Labriola Center is leading the nation in how to implement these guidelines.
Personally, I come to this work as a reconnecting descendant who has worked in Indigenous academic spaces on and off for the past ten years. I found community in the Pacific Northwest but still have a lot to learn about reconnecting to the communities my family was separated from. I am the grandchild of an Indigenous man whose father was White Mountain Apache and whose mother was Pascua Yaqui. My grandfather was adopted and raised Mexican rather than within either of his Tribal communities. My intention as a student is to learn how I can contribute to stopping the extraction of knowledge from Indigenous peoples and how to return what has been taken. This goal of redress and healing underpins my commitment to becoming an archivist.
I learned an incredible amount about Indigenous librarianship and Indigenous archival methods from Vina. She demonstrated how she screens materials for things that are culturally sensitive, incorrect or derogatory to make sure they are being used appropriately or returned to Tribes if that is the most ethical choice. Even being able to see the Labriola Center archives and library filled my heart with gratitude and determination.
During my first year in the UW program, I was disappointed there were so few of us interested in Indigenous archival work and librarianship. Seeing the Labriola Center, meeting the staff and student workers, and hearing about all the incredible work they do proved to me that there are people devoted to doing this kind of work in libraries. The Labriola Center is foundationally reshaping the field for libraries and archives and it was an honor to learn from the best in Phoenix for the month. I am returning to Seattle to finish school knowing there is important work to be done and that there are people doing it, people who are pushing libraries and archives to acknowledge Tribal Sovereignty every day.
I believe that nearly every government archive at a local, state, or federal level in this country has Indigenous collection materials that need to be reviewed, restricted, and returned. Native librarians, scholars, and archivists have been saying this for decades. Learning Vina’s process for doing this at Labriola will help me immensely as I continue to find my place in helping with this mission as well. As a reconnecting student, it also meant a lot for me to be in a place like Labriola that had context for who I am and why this goal is important for me. Along the way, of course I also hope to learn how to search for my ancestors and relatives in archives. There is so much information kept in library basements and bookshelves that we do not know about and do not know how to find. I feel a responsibility to help my family find our relatives and help others find theirs. The mentorship and knowledge I gained while working with the Labriola staff was truly life changing. I hope to return to continue learning and teach others who are invested in this work about the world-altering mission of Labriola.
Reflections from Lourdes Peirra
I truly cherish my time at Labriola and feel beyond grateful to have gotten this opportunity to learn about Indigenous librarianship, Indigenous archives and Tribal community archives. This past year at the University of Washington, I have felt a range of emotions from loneliness, anger and disappointment because of the lack of acknowledgment and implementation of Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous librarianship and archiving within curriculum. Besides my classes with Professor Itza and Professor Sandy LitteTree, there were no classes I had that discussed relationship building and culturally sensitive work with Indigenous communities. Specifically the implementation of PNAAM and Principles in Indigenous Archival Repatriation (PINAR).
Sometimes being one of three Indigenous peoples in a class of 30 or the only person in the room speaking on Indigenous knowledge and values in regard to our information and being told by a professor to read outside of class readings because they knew the current curriculum did not support me as an Indigenous librarian can be, to say the least, frustrating. This has resulted in my experience of feeling invisible and misunderstood within the iSchool program, which in turn led me to the Labriola National American Indian Data Center. Interning with Labriola this summer not only countered my preexisting feelings but also fostered my knowledge as an Indigenous information professional and helped me grow. I learned that kinship and positionality are at the core of Indigenous librarianship and archiving. We are not trying to "indigenize” a structure that is not traditional to us and has caused harm to our communities. We are decolonizing it with the implementation of protocols such as PNAAM and PINAR, demanding relationship building with Tribes, providing resources to Tribal communities and Indigenous students, most importantly upholding Tribal sovereignty and having a dedicated Indigenous space with an all Indigenous staff.
The Labriola Center's emphasis on Tribal sovereignty was refreshing to see because many people and institutions forget that Indigenous people of North America are not just an ethnicity, we are a political entity, we are a sovereign entity. It was incredible to witness it continuously being mentioned and woven into everything I saw and engaged with. I can't explain how it felt to be in a place where I did not have to explain anything and during a very traumatic time of me engaging with American Indian boarding school materials, I was able to get through it with the support of my Diné instructor, Vina Begay. This really showed me how important it is to have an Indigenous library like Labriola, not just for community healing and being a resource for Tribal communities and students, but also the development of Indigenous and non-Indigenous information professionals. Their furthering the information field and most importantly making it clear that for some of us in this field, we are not and will never be alone.
S-ape’o to the Labriola Center and their wonderful staff!
