Roundtable

Reviewed by: Council for Museum Anthropology

Of interest to: Practicing and Applied Anthropologists, Teachers of Anthropology in Community Colleges, Students, Those Involved in Mentoring Activities

Primary Theme: Inclusivity

Secondary Theme: Resilience

(3-0360) Approaches to Expanding the Use of Anthropological Archives

Anthropological archives--traditionally holding the manuscripts, fieldnotes, audio recordings, drawings, maps, as well as still and moving images of anthropologists trained in a range of subdisciplines--steward knowledge that is increasingly relevant to a range of “traditional” and “non-traditional” users. Anthropologists from all four fields, as well as many Native and Indigenous community members, draw on previous anthropological research and data to answer contemporary research questions. Tribal archives and community users are increasingly reclaiming these collections for community-based projects, thanks in large part to improved access to digital interfaces and web technology. Online databases and portals make it more possible than ever before to discover materials of potential research interest to anthropologists and members of Indigenous communities alike.

This roundtable panel will showcase current research and projects that capture this trend from both archival and anthropological perspectives. We will share current projects that aim to encourage, understand, and document anthropological archives’ ever-growing range of uses and how they may help shape future directions in archival best practices, anthropology, Native and Indigenous studies, and language and cultural revitalization efforts.

Organizer(s)

• Diana Marsh

  Postdoctoral Fellow
  National Anthropological Archives, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution

Presenter(s)

• Diana Marsh

  Postdoctoral Fellow
  National Anthropological Archives, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution

• Sarah Buchanan

  Assistant Professor
  University of Missouri

• Ricardo Punzalan

  Assistant Professor
  University of Maryland, College Park

Chair(s)

• Adrianna Link

  Head of Scholarly Programs
  American Philosophical Society

Presenter(s)

• Adrianna Link

  Head of Scholarly Programs
  American Philosophical Society

• Emily Leischner

  PhD Student
  University of British Columbia, Department of Anthropology