Brian Hosmer

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to the WHQ online. About 576 words from this article are provided below; about 2822 words remain.

If you are a individual subscriber to the Western Historical Quarterly, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a subscriber to the Western Historical Quarterly, you can:: • subscribe here.
• Purchase this article in PDF form for $10.00.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Western Historical Quarterly (104.3-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Western Historical Quarterly.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

Brian Hosmer | The Research Library and Native American Collections: A View from the D'Arcy McNickle Center | The Western Historical Quarterly, 38.3 | The History Cooperative

The Research Library and Native American Collections: A View from the D'Arcy McNickle Center

IN JUNE OF 2005, I DELIVERED A PRESENTATION before a session at the annual meeting of the American Library Association.¹ It was my first talk before a group of librarians, though I had worked at a rather prominent research library for a number of years—and, less remarkable than ironic, this lecture led to a series of speaking engagements. In Chicago, Ithaca and Albuquerque, Wellington and Auckland, Laramie and Cody, I entered into stimulating conversations with librarians and archivists, curators and academic fellow travelers, all drawn together to explore what it meant to develop and sustain productive associations between indigenous communities and research libraries. Moreover, while participating in discussions outside my own academic training proved challenging, it also afforded me some space to assess what we at the D'Arcy McNickle Center have done, are doing, and would like to do in order to render more accessible the Newberry's renowned collection of printed materials on American Indian history, culture, and literatures.	1
To scholars and students working in American Indian Studies, the Newberry is well known indeed. Its Ayer and Graff collections have provided solid foundation for numerous academic and popular volumes. Such renowned scholars as D'Arcy McNickle, Francis Jennings, Alfonso Ortiz, Peter Iverson, Dave Edmunds, and Fred Hoxie have guided both the Center and researchers working at the Newberry, and legendary figures like Ayer librarian John Aubrey have directed and prodded, challenged and counseled, generations of students, this writer included. Add the library's fellowship programs, seminars, exhibits, lectures, and publication projects, and it is little wonder that the Newberry's impact on American Indian Studies is likened to that of Paris on the world of fashion.²	2
But if a sterling reputation is one thing, participating meaningfully in today's dynamic environment is quite another. For if we take seriously (as we should) critiques of American Indian Studies, libraries—as much as academics and universities—must appreciate the changes overtaking the world in which they operate, particularly when they concern access and responsibilities, outreach, and what we might (all too cleverly) term "in-reach."	3
Sometimes libraries do value such changes. In September of 2004, the Newberry Library's D'Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History hosted a National Research conference that had as its theme, "Native Peoples and Museums: Building Reciprocal Relationships for the 21st Century." Sponsored by the Committee on Institutional Cooperation/Newberry American Indian Consortium (an innovative collaboration in graduate training and scholarship, supported by deans from major research institutions in the Midwest and headquartered at the Newberry) and with additional underwriting, courtesy of the Rockefeller Foundation, this meeting featured presentations from Native and non-Native professionals working in or with museums in a variety of capacities—including interpretation, public outreach, and repatriation.	4
Though influenced by the nearly simultaneous opening of the long-anticipated National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. (NMAI), we envisioned our event as a forum for considering the state of relationships between indigenous communities and those institutions that house, display, and make available for research objects of historical cultural significance. Phrased another way, we wanted to explore current thinking on stewardship, on the nature and definition of cultural patrimony, and perhaps most importantly on the history, current state, and future prospects for meaningful collaborations between and among Native communities, tribal institutions, libraries and universities, and, of course, scholars of various description.	. . .

There are about 2822 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.