This session offers a practical introduction to the SNAC (Social Networks and Archival Context) platform, a free digital archival research tool, and a critical examination of how colonial archival standards and descriptive practices shape what users can find in SNAC. Presenters involved with the IndigenizeSNAC Project at the University of Maryland (Scotty Beland, Abigail Hardy, Diana Marsh and Melissa Stoner) will explore ways these standards can limit accessibility and perpetuate inappropriate or incomplete descriptions of Indigenous entities, and discuss work already completed and ongoing efforts to address these issues within SNAC.
Event Pricing
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About the Presenters
Diana Marsh is an Assistant Professor of Archives and Digital Curation at the University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies (iSchool) and current member of the Society of American Archivists’ new Archival Repatriation Committee. She previously worked at the Smithsonian’s National Anthropological Archives and American Philosophical Society. Her current work focuses on improving discovery of Native and Indigenous collections held in colonial repositories.
Scotty Beland, MLIS, is a PhD student, full-time research admin, and part-time archives and linked data research assistant, all based out of the University of Maryland, College Park. As a research assistant, he assists with training and curriculum development, creation of outreach and project content and material, programming and event planning, and is heavily involved in SNAC operations. Work with this project follows nearly 3 years working in outreach, instruction and exhibitions at UMD’s Special Collections and University Archives.
Abigail Hardy is an enrolled member of the Monacan Indian Nation and a current Master of Library and Information Sciences student at the University of Maryland, College Park. She holds a bachelors in anthropology and uses that background to guide her research and work in the field.
Melissa Stoner (Diné) has served as the Native American Studies Librarian at the University of California, Berkeley since June 2016. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science from San José State University. Her research centers on the arrangement, description, and digitization of Indigenous archival materials, with particular attention to collections that contain culturally sensitive information and Tribal knowledge.
