Presentation

Documenting Environmental and Natural History: The Role of Archivists in Stewarding Archives, Specimens, and Data in Settler Institutions

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Abstract

Archivists and scientists alike have long had a stake in the stewardship of environmental and natural history collections. These collections often represent observational and longitudinal studies with long-term value and active use/reuse by scientists. The field notebooks, specimen logs, photographs, and other materials which comprise the documentation for these specimens and data also have enduring historical value. While scientific collections are found in a variety of institutions—including museums, federal repositories, and scientific organizations—they are often found, preserved in whole or in part, at universities with a history of collecting the natural world and studying the environment. Depending on circumstances, research needs, and resources for storing specimens and associated data, collections may be become split up and decontextualized. Understanding the nature of these collections is further complicated by the blurry lines between what is data, what is a specimen, and what is a record, based on different disciplinary perspectives. These collections are also evidence of colonial and extractive histories in which white, Western scientists collected specimens from Native lands and with Indigenous knowledge but without consent, acknowledgment, or attribution. This session presents case studies that reexamine the role of institutional archives and archivists in stewarding these collections and describing scientific contexts and histories. The presenters will discuss ways that archivists can begin rethinking how to describe these histories of collecting, extraction, and recordkeeping in university archives, share how these collections and their myriad complexities can be used in immersive experiences to promote reflection and discernment in the field, and provide more honest, accurate and transparent access to these materials.

How to Cite:

Moore, E., Holt-Werle, E., Ryckbost, A. & Anderson, B., (2023) “Documenting Environmental and Natural History: The Role of Archivists in Stewarding Archives, Specimens, and Data in Settler Institutions”, MAC Annual Meeting Presentations 2023(1).