This course is an exploration of the intersection of colonial archives and Indigenous knowledge and practices. Much research has interrogated archives as the site for what is “known” about Indigenous peoples throughout the world. As Edward Said argues, colonial archives are the sources used by western writers, observers, travelers, philosophers, and imperial officers of their colonial countries, among others, to structure knowledge about the “Other.” These structures of knowing have material effects and consequences that have profoundly facilitated the dispossession and disenfranchisement of Indigenous peoples. Within the U.S., Indigenous peoples, especially during the era of Red Power, critiqued and challenged knowledge making of colonial archives in myriad ways, including drawing on these sources as forms of cultural revitalization, repatriation of material culture and intellectual and culture knowledge, and as sources to foster storytelling and remembering. Our work surveys definitions of colonial archives and their uses and simultaneously, examines these same archives as sites of Indigenous sovereignty and revitalization.
The NCAIS Summer Institute is a three-week-long intensive graduate course held during the summer at The Newberry Library in Chicago. Participants are provided with housing in Chicago, receive a $600 living stipend, and will be reimbursed for travel expenses up to $750. Leftover funding will be used to more fully reimburse students whose travel accommodations exceed this amount. If you have questions about the institute, please contact mcnickle@newberry.org.
Interested students should apply directly to their NCAIS Faculty Liaison by March 28, 2025.
Cost and Registration
The Summer Institute is only available to graduate students in NCAIS-affiliated institutions.