Princeton Univ. “Archival Silences” series continues now w/ Decolonizing Knowledges. Nishikawa greets. Sarconi brings Native territory knowledge of the Lenape nation “evicted” and persisting.

Sarconi: “What does ‘decolonization’ want? What do we want when we call for the ‘decolonization’ of the library and archive when [those institutions are colonial in birth and purpose]? How do we call, and are those goals achievable?”

First Q to panelists: what does ‘decolonization’ mean to you? What do you think of that term in your work?

Matt Cohen introduces his location & work. Answer to Q: the term is useful in the domains in which he works. Esp. the Tuck & Yang piece: decol as process; return of land; etc. Material grounding & spiritual existence of places influence his work to interrupt "innocence."

Cohen: working in bibliography, looks to induce willingness to give up control as a predicate to giving back the land. Issue of Settler Innocence is critical as are studies/critiques of authority. Reminding the would-be Lords of Textual Media that they wield this power.

Athena Jackson: acknowledges living in LA, Gabriellino-Tongva territory. As Dir. of Special Collections (in most colonial of collections: male white book collecting), vestigial remains of that position continue in the UCLA rare books collection. 1st effort was to build ...

...relationships with colleagues in ethnic studies depts, esp. Native studies. Jackson wanted to welcome colleagues to interrogate what she & library colleagues were doing in special collections, esp. w/ donors & users.

Jackson: thinking of the def. of 'decolonization,' I think of what was told to me: that term does not belong to me. (!) Self-IDs at Latinx. This is most important to me--the acts of decol in her work is structural, esp. how the collection is maintained, *described*, accessed.

Jackson: thinking also about deed of gift (for items in collection), and what that means for sovereignty. Thinking across univ. silos, esp. w/ colleagues in Am Indian studies, means making space for activating powerful thinkers in rel. to the collections.

Tua'one: acknowledges the Ute & other nations related to Colorado. Having had a "very traditional" English literature degree, once opened a (rare) book on the Pacific, the book had not been used - had to cut the pages. Saw the great gap in studying the Pacific in 18C studies.

Tua'one: seeks to decenter UK as center of knowledge production; re-imagining the UK as an island to be discovered by others [echoing the discovery narratives lacing the Pacific & its peoples]. Rediscovered a Raiataian navigator in the UK in 17## (sorry missed date!).

Tua'one: we are not done with colonization. I participate in colonization by residing in someone elses land. "Decolonizing" is most productive through acts, policy, & returning land.

[ I kako'o Tua'one's statement: colonization is something I partipate in as well, on Ohlone nations' land. BIPOC need to understand this point too. ]

Warren: acknowledge residing in the pae 'aina 'o Hawai'i. When studying in the diaspora, credits the decolonization efforts in libraries & special collections. How I come to 'decolonization' as an Indigenous & Black person, I have these relations to texts and....

& thinking of rel. to colonial powers. Cites Heath Justice & T. Teaiwa about pushing back against the limits on what counts as "text" to read. Like teaching kakau, etc. - to decolonize what counts as "literature."

Warren: decolonization is tied to land access. Histories about the land are in the land. Without physical access, to circumvent the colonial structures that limit access to land, this is essential to reading/interpreting literature. [ KAKO'O!]

Sarconi: Mellon grant for projects re: reimagining public monuments, def. as "story-telling spaces." Q: how can we reimagine "monuments" to tell other kinds of stories, to embody story-telling in diff ways, and rel. to library/archive?

Jackson: The library shouldn't be the place to sanitize someone's reputation. An artifact shouldn't be brought from outside into the library to then use it to tell a particular story for a singular audience. Thinking of statues or objects that reify a "person's place in history."

Tua'one: monuments reflect values of a public to the public, incl. giving happiness. It's an historical process. If the monument does not give, they can be removed. Taking down monuments has already happened, incl. mounds, marae, etc. The archives should also reflect access.

Tua'one: archives should reflect broader values as well. For example, mother's tapa collection signified. Broaden the definition of who donates, what is collected & interpreted.

Warren: connection between the monument and the public - how can you have a connection to monument or place if you cannot access? Then critique the monetary aspect of commissioning monuments; reconceive the stories we need to value & how "valuing" gets done.

Warren: more square mileage in Guam is being taken away from Native people. This is the story across the Pacific. So rethinking the power of the monument is intertwined with this dispossession.

Cohen: in Australia, there is a legal regime for collaborating in how monuments get created, protected, etc. Difficulty w/ monuments is they have a strange temporality (capable of being re/made, like the Lee statue). Digital resources & activist/access prof. groups are also imp.

Cohen: building social spaces in/around access to archives/libraries, including social support as well as tools, are critical for decolonization.

Nishikawa: This roundtable is a rarity because (in part) all panelists are West of the Mississippi. They are centering the Pacific!! What if we decenter the UK as an island in a world of islands. [YAAAASSS!! This is MY JAM! ]

Nishikawa: A Pacific methodology is essential, important!

Audience question: what of the term "re-indigenizing"? Is it useful? Have you heard of this?

Tua'one: this term decenters decolonization and recenters indigenous knowledge production. All for it! Warren: I second this, AND push for specificity for what is meant by "indigenous." [ KAKO'O!!! WHICH "indigenous" is critical. ] Worry about ppl using that term too broadly.

Warren: acknowledge the positionality of the place, the people. Being specific to the place AND the language of the place is essential.

[ Ed. note: apologies! Missed the 3rd question about space place & the first part of Jackson's answer! :( ]

[ and Cohen's answer on data tracking & mining ]

Cohen raising the issue of data tracking and (I am renaming) data sovereignty in the midst of data capturing.

Jennifer [ ] - sorry, missed last name, audience member's note that "re-indigenizing" erases the fact that sovereignty/nations' territories (for ex. in Australia) were never ceded. Therefore, the "re-" is erasing.

Q: What are the ways to "decolonize" knowledge of the body, the knowledges our bodies carry? And does that colonization continue even after land restoration/repatriation?

Warren: as a diasporic kanaka, being placed in a hula halau as a child, this unlocked much. Cites the specificity of each different halau's (kumu's) lineal transmission of steps, motions, so "your body becomes part of this larger genealogy" of story-telling. <3

Cohen: dance, yes. "The eternal decolonial" - the repossession of the land does not end this process. There is decolonization and then there is decolonial-izing - neutralizing the desire to dominate that remains. [Kako'o!!]

[ Ed. Note: see the talks/statements/writings by Tuhoe leaders, for example, on this very point - of having to reclaim even their te reo Maori from colonization. ]

Jackson: the work is endless. And hope grandchildren will be proud of these efforts.

Q how can we help institutions make space for alternate "books" AND make clear the importance of tapu/kapu as a limit to what should/can be shared?

Tua'one: the "books" like tapa/kapa are in institutions, but are in museums. Tapa meant to be given to an archive, and if given to an archive in good faith, it can be read. Warren: emphasis on "in good faith." The people of the communities w/things of value should be in the room.

Warren: not all knowledge is for everybody - sometimes "no" is what needs to be said & heard. Understanding the boundaries of tapu/kapu as prohibitive and productive.

Jackson: an institutional policy is not a tradition. If that policy keeps something from happening that would respect and honor the agency of the People to whom the collection/item belongs, then it is not "tradition." Policy must benefit the right party.

Cohen: recenter & rethink. Warren: relationships must be the center of these movements. Cohen: rethink the language of "deliverables" - where does that come from?

Nishikawa reminds that prioritizing relationality & respect. This is the beginning of a conversation we want to continue having ( March "Fictioning Archives" talk). Thanks panelists. Yes!!!