Recently, Cline Library Special Collections and Archives Archivist for Indigenous Initiatives and Cultures, Mowana Lomaomvaya, presented at the Following Knowledge Forward conference hosted by the American Philosophical Society’s (APS) Center for Native American and Indigenous Research (CNAIR) in Philadelphia, PA. Mowana presented on the collaborative work of the Cline Library team and the 7 Generation Knowledge Center thus far in developing the Indigenous Knowledges Digital Learning Library (IKDLL), it’s background, goals, evolution, and available content materials.
Mowana gained a wealth of knowledge from the other presentations at the conference, learning the histories and stories of Indigenous communities across North America, discussing cultural property dilemmas under NAGPRA, and how different projects are amplifying and centering Indigenous knowledge and voices using archives and traditional ways of learning. Many of the presentations centered around CNAIR archival collections and how those collections are informing and guiding language revitalization As a special note, this was a full-circle moment for Mowana, who, as a college student, interned with CNAIR in 2018 and conducted a summer research project regarding a former Carlisle Indian Industrial School student named White Buffalo in the later 1800s.
The IKDLL is an open access Indigenous OER repository for digital materials teaching Indigenous knowledges and providing Indigenous perspectives on a variety of topics and disciplines. For more information on the IKDLL, please visit ikdll.nau.edu.
