HISTORY COLLECTIONS AND OTHER ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

Moderator: Norman Cary, Head Curator Branch, Naval Historical Center, Washington Navy Yard,
    Washington, D.C.
 

FROM MINERALS TO MACHINES: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TVA HISTORIC COLLECTION

Mike Dobrogosz, Curator, TVA Historic Collection, Norris, TN

The TVA Historic Collection was developed in 1987. Within ten years, the program has grown to one of the largest corporate collections in the country - with over 20,000 artifacts at an estimated appraised value of $10 million. This slide presentation discussed the development and evolution of this unique federal history program, including the processes of inventory, documentation, storage, conservation and restoration, research, educational programming, exhibits, and long-term preservation plans.

 

 
ORAL HISTORY, ALASKA NATIVE LAND CLAIMS, AND THE MANAGEMENT OF CULTURALLY SENSITIVE FEDERAL COLLECTIONS

Kenneth L. Pratt, Archaeologist (ANSCA Program Manager), BIA ANSCA Office, Anchorage,
    AK

-Background
-The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971
-ANCSA Section 14(h)(1): Historical Places and Cemetery Sites
-The Bureau of Indian Affairs= AANCSA 14(h)(1) Program@
-The ANCSA 14(h)(1) Museum Property Collection
-Administrative, Archeological, and Ethnographic Components
-Applicability to Contemporary Alaskan and Northern Issues
-Processing and Management Constraints
-Legal, Political, and Ethical Issues in the Management of ANCSA 14(h)(1) Ethnographic/Oral History Records
-Ownership, Control, and Dissemination
-Access and Use Restrictions
-Interview Release Forms and AInformed Consent@
-Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights
-The Road Ahead
-Native vs. Non-Native Trends in Alaska Politics
-Partnership Opportunities, and Partnership Failures
-Decision-Making for AThe Common Good@
 

 

REEL HISTORY AND NATIVE ALASKANS: COLLECTION COLLABORATION BY THE SMITHSONIAN FILM ARCHIVES, NSF AND THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

John Homiak, Director, Human Studies Film Archives, National Anthropological Archives,
    Washington, D.C.

This presentation described the preservation of the Bernard Hubbard-King Island Fish Collection by the Smithsonian=s Human Studies Film Archives and subsequent support for the intellectual and community use of these materials by the National Science foundation and the National Park Service. With combined NSF and Smithsonian support, portions of the Hubbard Film collection (1938-1940) were used by a Film Archives researcher to develop an oral history project on the Bering Sea Inupiat community of King Island. The presentation described how this footage wasBin video formatBused to explore the history of the now dispersed Eskimo community and to record first-person interpretations of community life on King Island by its present day elders. A subtext to this presentation was the role which preservation and access plays in generating cultural and/or scientific interest in archival collections. As the film was preserved and news of its access disseminated, the NPS took an interest in acquiring access to Hubbard footage of the AValley of 1,000 Smokes@ in great measure because of Hubbard=s own professional training as a geologist and because it was apparently the earliest filmed record of the region. The serendipitous aspects of the overall project were discussed as a model for similar collaborations among Federal agencies.