The Native American Look at Records Protection and Why it is Important

by Hugh Smith

I recently had an opportunity to attend and speak at the National Conference of Tribal Archives, Libraries, & Museums. This was a unique experience. I highly recommend that other companies take the time to exhibit, participate and even deliver presentations on records management, records protection and business continuity.

If I told you there was a conference that would be attended by all the CEO's, CFO's and Board Members of a given industry in one gathering you would immediately sign up to attend this conference. This conference presented just that opportunity. It was a unique experience as the Tribal Leadership view themselves as ancient peoples and view the custodianship of their history in a way that few would understand. We live in a world where documents are created in minutes and their lifespan is measured in day and weeks.

The movement of businesses into the digital world makes them concerned with protecting the computers rather than the intellectual content. Documents are born digital and often stay digital. The Indian Tribes with state of the art gambling casinos and tribal management have a need for digital storage; but the cultural tradition of how they protect their collections was the refreshing difference in this conference.

Imagine an environment where the educational sessions are of great interest so the attendance was large and, as a vendor, having virtually no competition for that interest. Approximately 500 or so top executives wandered into and out of my booth and 60 attended a speech I delivered. This offered a unique opportunity for providing a quality marketing experience.

As a person who constantly reads about the history of our nation, I had a completely new and rich experience. The Conference titled “Guardians of Language, Memory, and Lifeways” was attended by numerous Native American Nations, including Cherokee, Osage, Chickasaw, Creek, Pueblo, Lakota, Native Hawaiian, Cheyenne, Mohawk, Seneca Nation, Navajo, Kiowa, and Apache, names which are such an important part of our nation's heritage. I believe there are over 500 native tribes that could be described, of which 226 are federally recognized.

My favorite was the Smith Tribe of California of course. No relation though. (Or at least none they would admit to. Not surprising.)

As a 23-year veteran of records management conferences, I can tell you that this was a refreshing experience as no one takes the preservation of records, heritage and language to heart in quite the manner which I witnessed in Oklahoma. If you attend and exhibit, be prepared to be swept away as history surrounds you at every moment.

In order to truly understand the interest, one first has to be aware that Native American communities are sovereign governments. Tribes had their own traditional governments prior to the European invasion of America . Most of the tribes have Federal recognition of their status, and many others have state recognition. These tribes have met through the years to develop “ Protocols for Native American Archival Materials.” The goal of this study was to identify the best professional practices for culturally responsive care and use of Native American archival collections and artifacts held by non-tribal organizations.

One only has to imagine IBM having to write a protocol to direct the IRS to protect their records while in their care, or your family attempting to convince the National Archive to handle your family's cultural records with care to recognize the difficult position of the Tribal Communities. In recent years, the Tribal Leadership has been able to gain the support of the Society of American Archivists, the American Association for State and Local History and others to cooperate with the Native Communities in gaining control of their own intellectual and cultural property rights.

Of great concern to the Native Communities has been to recognize the need and provide for special treatment of culturally sensitive materials until such time as the collections can be repatriated.

Just as we see Italy and France calling for the return of sculptures and paintings stolen during various wars, Egypt calling for the repatriation of artifacts, scrolls, pottery and carvings stolen at various time by tomb raiders, and so on, we can see the point of view of the creators of priceless tribal artifacts. These collections play a more important role to the Tribal Association than just a viewing during a museum stroll. These artifacts define them as a nation and a people. The pure motives of protection and sacred care by the Native Americans peoples that brought these artifacts to life should be honored. My brief time with them convinced me that they would be the custodians of highest care. They have spent a great deal of time to develop “The Protocols,” which build on professional and ethical codes for the preservation of culturally sensitive materials. They have relied on the assistance of the American Anthropological Association, the Society of American Archivists, ARMA and the Oral History Association, as well as the American Association of State and Local History in conjunction with the tribes' own archivists to create guidance for all of their membership that will insure these materials will be protected for as long as our civilization exists.

I suggest that if you represent a product that tracks records, houses archival collections, stores materials in “safe offsite vaults,” or a hundred other products that museums, libraries and archives rely on to protect their collections, that you attend this conference.

I would also suggest that ARMA Chapters take this opportunity to recruit membership in your local chapters from this elite group, as you will find their desire for proper management of records collections and artifacts to be a renewal of your professional purpose.

For more information on this worthwhile Conference, you may contact: Susan Feller at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.tribalconference.org

Hugh Smith is a principal in FIRELOCK Fireproof Modular Vaults, one of the world leaders in modular vaults for the protection of computer media, computer equipment and vital records and cultural artifacts. Hugh can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.firelock.com