Moving Beyond Colonial Models of Digital Memory
Exploring the dynamic role of tribal libraries, archives and museums in bridging community values and digital strategy
The Challenge
In developing or supporting digital community memory projects in collaboration with indigenous communities worldwide, we have often come to the table with digital tools that have not been designed to meet specific community needs. Additionally, scopes of work determined by philanthropic or government funders seldom address the inherent shortcomings of typical grant-making strategies.
Our Approach
Our long term objective was to take a Native-led, human centered design approach to identify how we might create a program for technology training and memory gathering in tribal libraries. Our partners made very clear that we were looking at product solutions too soon, and not taking into account some of the key challenges facing these communities. The resulting research laid the instructional groundwork for how to insure community values inform digital strategy in tribal libraries, archives and museums.
Stats and Impact
We spent over a year in conversation with 5 tribal libraries in New Mexico (see videos below), and conducted 3 deep dive research sessions in New Mexico and California, including over 20 people
The findings led to a digital program with training, online resources and evaluation modules that can be conducted within the limits of under-resourced rural tribal libraries, presented at the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums conference in 2017
While this project helped provide a narrative and need within Tribal libraries, we were unsuccessful in raising additional funds to directly benefit said libraries, further highlighting the existing barriers existing with funding agencies and philanthropists
Tools & Methodologies employed
Audience Analysis/Persona Development
Ethnographic Research
Community-Centered Design
Documentary Video Production
“A continuous echo through this research is that community input in cultural projects is often unpaid work. Institutions large and small often expect communities with collective cultural practices to share these for little or no reimbursement.”
—Hali Dardar
“Without our language, we’ll lose our songs. Without our songs, we’ll lose our dances. Without our dances, we’ll lose our identity.”
—Maureen Wacondo, Jemez Pueblo Community Library