Reciprocity: Building a Discourse in Archives
Increasing interest in indigenization, decolonization, community archives, and the recent adoption of the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials (PNAAM) by the Society of American Archivists, offer opportunities for archivists to reflect on the application of “reciprocity” in archives. This article examines reciprocity as a concept in the archival field and shows how current reciprocal practices in archives with Native and Indigenous holdings can inform the wider field and its practice. The authors chart the emergence of reciprocity as an archival responsibility and to create fieldwide change through meaningful, community-based partnerships. They posit a continuum of institutional reciprocity, as well as how reciprocity might be seeded into the core functions of archives to bridge distances between communities and archival institutions. Inspired by recent scholarship in museum studies, the article concludes with a vision of “otherwising” to explore alternative possibilities that can be realized when we adopt reciprocity as an archival practice.ABSTRACT
Contributor Notes
Ricardo L. Punzalan is an associate professor in the University of Michigan School of Information. His research and teaching focuses on archives and digital curation. He conducts community-based, participatory research to understand access to digitized anthropological archives and ethnographic legacy data by academic and community users. He currently codirects ReConnect/ReCollect: Reparative Connections to Philippine Collections at the University of Michigan, a project that develops the framework for, and the practice of, reparative work for Philippine collections acquired by the university during the US colonial period. His work has been published in American Archivist, Archival Science, Archivaria, International Journal of Digital Curation, and Library Quarterly.
Diana E. Marsh is an assistant professor of archives and digital curation at the University of Maryland's College of Information Studies (iSchool) and current chair of the Native American Archives Section of the Society of American Archivists. Her current work focuses on improving discovery and access to colonially held archives for Native American and Indigenous communities. Her recent work has appeared in American Archivist, Archival Science, Archivaria, and Archival Outlook, and her book, From Extinct Monsters to Deep Time: Conflict, Compromise, and the Making of Smithsonian's Fossil Halls, was published in 2019 by Berghahn Books.