The Smathers Libraries acknowledge that for thousands of years the area now comprising the state of Florida has been, and continues to be, home to many Native Nations. We further recognize that the main campus of the University of Florida is located on the ancestral territory of the Potano and of the Seminole peoples. The Potano, of Timucua affiliation, lived here in the Alachua region from before European arrival until the destruction of their towns in the early 1700s. The Seminole, also known as the Alachua Seminole, established towns here shortly after but were forced from the land as a result of a series of wars with the United States known as the Seminole Wars. The Smathers Libraries acknowledge its obligation to honor the past, present, and future Native residents and cultures of Florida.
This guide and the digitized oral histories it connects to is part of a collaborative grant project between the UF Libraries and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. The project, Redressing Native American Oral Histories: Revitalization, Repatriation, and Responsible Sharing of Digital Cultural Heritage, revisits Native American interviews curated at the University of Florida. Oral histories in the collection date to the 1970-2000s and primarily include those of Seminole (Florida), Lumbee (North Carolina), Catawba (South Carolina), Choctaw (Mississippi), and Poarch Creek (Alabama) tribal members. Funding for this work was graciously provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums.
This project is a collaboration between the UF Libraries and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and support from the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums.
The project team is partnering with the tribal organizations represented in the collections at UF and is working in collaboration with community curation teams to review collection materials. This process includes the removal of culturally sensitive or restricted materials, adding Native language and/or translation to enhance interview data and metadata, identifying discrepancies in the recordings and transcripts, determining access protocols to collection content, creating and adapting Traditional Knowledge (TK) labels, and assisting with permission issues for digitizing and sharing content. The Native community partners for this project are:
Redressing Archival Harm: Ownership, Access, and Indigenous Knowledge. Evangeline Giaconia, Ginessa Mahar and Perry Collins, The Serials Librarian. January 2024. DOI 10.1080/0361526X.2023.2286237
Revitalizing Native American Oral Histories at the University of Florida. Fletcher Durant, Ginessa Mahar, and Indica Mattson, SOURCE: The Magazine of the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries. Vol. 5, No 1 September 2023.
Revitalizing Indigenous Oral Histories at the University of Florida. Evangeline Giaconia and Indica Mattson, Social Responsibilities Round Table Newsletter No. 220, October 2022
Choosing (Not) to Share: Indigenous Knowledge Sharing in Darcie Little Badger’s “A Snake Falls to Earth". Evangeline Giaconia, Diverse BookFinder, November 7, 2022.
Archival Ethics & Indigenous Materials: Resources for archives making ethical decisions about Indigenous materials. Evangeline Giaconia (Website).
News articles and press releases related to the project
Native Voices: Oral Histories Help to Preserve Indigenous Heritage. UF Explore Magazine, Apr. 19, 2022
‘Like a treasure trove’: reviving indigenous voices through oral history. Independent Florida Alligator, Apr. 16, 2021.
UF digitizes Native American history records with Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Gainesville Sun, Feb. 16, 2021.
A New Grant Will Digitize Thousands of Indigenous Oral Histories. HyperAllergic, Feb. 12, 2021.
UF Named to Receive Funding for Native American Oral History Collections. UF Libraries, Feb. 10, 2021.
Fresh funding aims to revitalize Indigenous oral history. Associated Press, Feb. 9, 2021.
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