Archival Repatriation Gathering

Archival Repatriation Gathering: How can collecting institutions better support Tribal data sovereignty?

The aim of this proposed gathering is two-fold: first, to share experiences, aspirations, frustrations, and models around the effort to return knowledge extracted from Tribal lands and communities to Tribal control, and second, to build relations between Tribes and institutions to support future archival and other collections repatriations.  We propose to focus particularly on knowledge in the form of research data, collected materials, documentation, and so on which have historically been regarded as outside of the purview of NAGPRA.

Who are we?  This project is being organized by collaborators within the University of Minnesota on an internal grant titled Archival Repatriation: Addressing Data Sovereignty in UMN Collections.  We represent academic units (Kat Hayes in Anthropology), collections units (Ellen Holt-Werle in the University Archives), and the Office of Native American Affairs (Dylan Goetsch, NAGPRA coordinator).  As a group we have been working to build networks within and across collecting institutions to share knowledge and build greater transparency and accessibility for communities concerned with colonial collections.  We have created a digital database to share records related to collections of concern; these records are contributing to NAGPRA consultations, but we see the records themselves as potentially subject to return or some other form of Tribal community control.  We hope that with this proposed gathering, we can create more pathways to data/knowledge restoration and return.

What are we proposing for this gathering?  We are proposing an online gathering to share perspectives, hear from both Tribally-affiliated and institutional collections professionals, build networks, and especially to hear from Tribal communities: what are you most concerned about in our collections, and how can we share those materials to consider their return?  This will include a panel of collaborators with deep experience navigating between institutions and disciplines on the one hand and Tribal sovereignty on the other. The panelists will discuss their experiences (including with the University of Minnesota) and strategies to help us frame how we might build sustainable relations locally in support of repatriation and rematriation.

We will hold this initial gathering on December 17th, 2026, from 1-4pm.  For Tribally-affiliated participants we will provide a $250 honoraria.  We welcome Tribal Historic Preservation Office professionals, Tribal archivists and museum staff, and other cultural experts.  If you are a Tribal professional who is interested but unable to participate, we welcome your recommendations of one or more alternative participants familiar with your Tribal data sovereignty concerns. For those open to more in-depth consultation, after the gathering, on our information-sharing database platform we will compensate your time (more details to come at the gathering).  Use this Google form to register or refer us to others to invite.

After the online gathering, University collaborators will follow up with Tribal community participants about what information we can gather regarding those collections of concern: catalog records, documentation, locations, associated researchers and projects.

In the following spring we will sponsor visits with the collections of concern and discussions of their appropriate care and disposition.  If these materials are distributed across multiple institutions, we will try to engage all the related repositories in the discussion if possible.  We hope these visits will provide a plan towards returning control, and also will build models and examples for future consultations and repatriations.