Decolonizing archival methodology: Combating hegemony and moving towards a collaborative archival environment

Abstract

The foundation of archival methodology is infl uenced by colonialism and imperialism. This paternalistic system has created a hegemonic environment that has directly infl uenced archivists working with Indigenous materials. While positive steps have been made, such as the enactment of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990) and the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials (2006), severe limitations exist due to a difference in worldview and cultural beliefs. In order to reverse the effects of hegemony and decolonize archival methodology, an exerted effort must be made to increase collaboration between archives and Indigenous communities. Furthermore, higher education must attract Indigenous students to information science programs in order to create a more diverse workforce. However, in order to enact lasting change in methodology, the archival profession must receive an injection of activist principles. These principles will help advance decolonizing initiatives and ensure the end of paternalism and colonialism in archival science.

Decolonizing archival description: Can linked data help?

“…Recently, some archivists have persuasively argued that subjects of records – and especially of colonial records or records documenting human rights abuses – must be viewed as co‐creators of records created about them (McKemmish et al ; Caswell ; Iacovino ; Evans et al ). A new and significant focus on archival decolonization calls attention to traditional ideas about provenance as inherently Western and suggests that Indigenous ways of knowing might be incommensurate with traditional archival concepts and principles (Brands & Gooda ; Fraser and Todd ; Genovese ; Nakata 2012; Ghaddar ). How archivists represent the creation of records is emerging as an issue of social justice related to the power of archives to mediate societal memory (Wood et al 2016).…”