The Novice Archivist

In my Archives User Services and Outreach class, a colleague explained a little bit of her experiences of Native American life.  This was to give insight to SAA’s “Protocols for Native American Archival Materials,” one of our assigned readings.  She majored in Native American studies and has worked closely with the Native American community in the area since 2002.  She was also engaged to an Ojibwa man for awhile and so she has unique and personal experiences with family interactions as well.

She gave us a stream-of-consciousness talk that touched on examples of beliefs and expanded on a few of the quotes that were presented in the document.  She described herself as having “absorbed the emotions” and was having difficulty putting in to words.  All in all, I found it to be a very moving discussion and I’d like to do more with how it made me feel, but I’m not sure what steps to take.

One of the quotes she pulled from the document was from Kim Lawson, where it was said that, “It’s a whole system of a way of life.  Our knowledge systems don’t make sense without spirituality.”  She tied it to Sheree Bonapate’s quote where it was said that, “We belong to the land…these elements endure over time; we come and go.”  Even though the speakers are from different tribes, the sentiment of fluidity and a symbiotic relationship with the land and surroundings is apparent.

She went on to talk about other examples that help to understand context for the document.  Women are seen as having a very powerful gift, they are the lifegivers.  There are certain times during a month where women have talking circles or mooncircles and the men of these communities know not to join in or know about what is discussed.  When she was talking about this, I was very close to crying.  I would love to have a group of women to talk to about woman stuff.  To have a support group built into the culture and respectful, expected exclusivity would be a blessing.  The American idea of individuals “pulling themselves up by their bootstraps,” and the added hurdle of being born female are becoming more taxing as I’m nearing graduation and entering into the “real” world.  I can see how this is a tradition that would be highly valued and keeping records, as if it were a formal meeting, could diminish the importance and meaning of the gathering altogether.

I may be making a far fetched connection, but this reminded me of a friend who was talking about his study of Qi’Jong.  He said that Chinese culture did not allow for women to learn the art of Qi’Jong, because the power that women naturally posses would a dangerous combination if allowed to practice (no confirmed sources).

She brought up how one acquires information in the culture.  Calling or emailing and straight up asking for information is disrespectful.  Obtaining information is a process and requires a relationship between the seeker and the giver.  In another class, we had an acquisitions manager of a large repository speak to us and one of his caveats was to not alienate the donor in your desire to obtain the collection, and she referred back to this statement.  Information is earned and appropriate actions would include visiting, talking face to face, and bringing something like a gift of tobacco.

This part of the discussion brought a few things to mind.  One was a offhanded thought that linked to another reading from the class for the day, “Chatting up the Archivist: Social Capital and the Archival Researcher” (Johnson, Duff. American Archivist Vol. 67), where perhaps the idea of a personable relationship with the archivist isn’t required, but it seems to be more fruitful than if the researcher had not engaged the archivist in “chitchat” or common interests discussion.

The other thought was that the Amish lifestyle has a similar outlook towards the essence of their way of life.  Technology has both sped up communication, but also made it less meaningful.  In 1998, while doing a report, I came across a reading that was an explanation of why it was done this way.  The effort that one put into to planning a visit and caring for the horses and preparing the wagons was a physical way of showing the significance of visiting the person, that the time they were to spend together was so valued that the journey would be worth the efforts.  This seems to be what I am understanding from the relationship and respect with information dissemination of the Native American lifestyle; if you have put forth the effort to connect with someone and have patience, then you have earned the knowledge you have come asking for.

Another bit of hearsay came to mind with the mention of exchanging of goods for information or information for information.  The example I remembered is energy for information.  Much like the Amish way of life, I was told by a friend how he came to be a practitioner of Reiki.  He said that a relative was a Master and that she offered to teach him, but she couldn’t just give it to him.  Because the art of Reiki was about balance of energy, there had to be an exchange.  He spent time helping her fix and clean her house and when the agreed amount of energy and time had been completed, she trained him.

This also brought to mind issues of implementation of this sort of strategy and solidifies the idea of the “archivist as gatekeeper.” There can be no across the board criteria set for determining when sufficient exchange of energy, effort or information has been reached and the researcher is ready to receive the desired knowledge.  She also mentioned that certain areas, such as a being a medicine man, required preparation because the knowledge was to powerful that one needed training to understand it.

While all the information she provided us with was to gain a contextual perspective on the “Protocols” set forth by SAA, I couldn’t help but pull up all these other instances of similar beliefs on the dissemination of knowledge.  It seems that there is an underlying common factor in many cultures that knowledge and information is to be earned and not merely “had.”  This seems to contrast harshly with our attempts to make use easier and information accessible to everyone.  Is there a human need for exchanges to occur for information?  Are information and knowledge completely different aspects that I’m using incorrectly as interchangeable?  With the deep importance of this exchange process,can it be regulated by a protocols document?  This seems to bring up very complex and sensitive topics where traditions would be compromised if altered.