Introductions:
The Memory Keepers Fellowship program is a project partnered between ASU’s Community Driven Archive Initiative and the Labriola Center. The fellowship is geared for BIPOC students at local community colleges and for them to explore the field of Library Information Science early in their college career. The first cohort of recruits will focus primarily on learning the fundamentals of archiving and learning how archiving can be tailored to fit the cultural customs of their local communities. They will be writing a monthly blog post series on their experience working in the archives at the Labriola Center on West campus.
Ah’sha Notah (Diné) is a program coordinator for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded project “Centering BIPOC Memory Keepers and Advancing Equity and Inclusion” fellowship program. She recruited a group of seven students from different backgrounds and walks of life to take on the opportunity of being in the fellowship. Five of whom are indigenous and some will be working with Labriola. From the first cohort is Janine Nelson (Diné).
Janine Nelson (Diné):
"Yá'át'ééh (Hello), my name is Janine Nelson and I am a Diné lady from the Navajo Nation. My maternal clan is Redhouse, my paternal clan is Manygoats, my maternal grandfather’s clan is Bitterwater, and my paternal grandfather’s clan is Red Running into Water Giant People. Originally, I’m from Black Wood Standing which is north from a small community called Shonto on the Navajo reservation but, am now currently living in Casa Grande.
The major I’m currently working on is Information Studies and eSociety at Mesa Community College. When I initially heard about the Community Drive Archives Memory Keepers Fellowship through my mom, I was intrigued by what exactly goes into archiving for the local communities and the history that could be revealed while doing so. Unfortunately, I was not too knowledgeable about the amazing work the Indigenous Archive and Libraries have done already as my previous interests were more focused on the medical field. So, I went into the program based on the knowledge that a person’s personal history, cultural or not, is important for the potential benefits it may have on future generations. Based on my in-person mentoring with the Labriola Center, I hope to learn more about the effort, work, and techniques that go into obtaining, preserving, and showcasing historical events or people that people now and in the future will want to know.
The main takeaway from my first day of mentoring would be how Labriola is paving something new for the local indigenous communities to possibly find a way to have their traditions be culturally respected among other ethnic people and also share those same traditions within their own communities to keep it alive. For my Service Learning Project, I will be focusing on the Phoenix Indian School and the possible unfortunate events that took place there that the local Indigenous communities had to endure."