ATALM 2019

NAAS members were very active at the recent Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) Conference, which was held at the beautiful Pechanga Casino and Resort in Temecula, California, on October 8–10. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in 14 preconference workshops, 27 hands-on collections care labs, four field trips to California cultural sites of significance to Native peoples, and more than 200 concurrent sessions focused on the theme “Navigating Cultural Survival in the 21^st Century.” Attendees also had the chance to hear United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (Muscogee/Creek) deliver the keynote address, connect with vendors in the Exhibits Hall, support Native artists and entrepreneurs in the Native Art Market, and much more.

NAAS Steering Committee members led a conference session on Thursday, October 10. The session, titled “Protocols 101: An Interactive Discussion with the Native American Archives Section,” sought input from conference attendees about the section’s plans and projects for the upcoming year. Steering Committee members asked participants to share their thoughts about these projects and about ways to create and sustain successful collaborations between Native and non-Native archivists and communities. About 35 participants, including past NAAS Chairs and Steering Committee members, attended the session, and many offered ideas about ways that NAAS can bolster outreach efforts this year.

NAAS also sponsored a booth in the Exhibit Hall. NAAS members staffed the booth between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on all three days of the conference, distributing fliers about NAAS activities to conference attendees and encouraging people to get involved in section activities. Thanks to SAA’s generous support, NAAS was also able to give away some “swag” (calendars of SAA publications, bookmarks, past issues of Archival Outlook and the American Archivist) and raffle off two SAA publications and free access to the recordings of SAA’s Annual Conference in August. Dozens of attendees stopped by the booth over the course of the conference, many of whom had never heard of SAA or of NAAS. NAAS members had a great time advocating for the section and connecting with potential new members.