The Journal of Western Archives "Best General Interest Article Award" and up to two honorable mention awards are given every five years. This year, the awards committee evaluated 37 articles published over the past five years, from 2020 to 2024, scoring them using the following criteria:
- Evidence in Support of Central Question/Argument
- Sources Consulted/Utilized in Service of the Question/Argument
- Understanding of the "Conversation" (Literature) Related to Central Question/Argument,
- Originality/Creativity of Central Argument
- Relevance
We narrowed the field to eight finalists and re-evaluated each using the above criteria. then discussed the merits of each article. Using this method, the committee is recognizing three articles this year. All are well-written and accessible, and address topics that are timely and will remain relevant to the profession for years to come.
The winner of the Journal of Western Archives Best General Interest Award is "The Los Seis de Boulder Sculpture Project: A Case Study of Socially Engaged Archivist/Artist Collaboration at the University of Colorado Boulder" by Megan Friedel and Jasmine Baetz from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Their article was part of the 2022 issue of the Journal of Western Archives. "The Los Seis de Boulder Sculpture Project" focuses on the challenge of creating a public monument commemorating the deaths of six Chicano Movement activists. It discusses a significant collaboration between the archives and an artist and provides a model for these types of collaborations. It highlights the importance of social justice in the archives and the value that archives bring to all communities.
In addition to the Best General Interest Award, the committee is awarding two honorable mentions to "Mrs. His Name: Reparative Description as a Tool for Cultural Sensitivity and Discoverability" by Elspeth A. Olson of the University of Nevada, Reno and "Leveraging the Protocols For Native American Archival Materials to Support Indigenous Digital Collections: A Case Study from the Sherman Indian Museum Digital Project" by Eric L. Milenkiewicz of California State University, San Bernardino. "Mrs. His Name: Reparative Description as a Tool for Cultural Sensitivity and Discoverability" was published in 2023 and describes a reparative description project to identify the names of married women who had previously been identified only by their husband's names in finding aids. This article underscores the importance of being culturally responsible as archivists and curators and highlights the value that comes from doing so. It is well-written and provides a useful model for future reparative description projects. "Leveraging the Protocols For Native American Archival Materials (PNAAM) to Support Indigenous Digital Collections " was published in 2024 and focuses on how PNAAM was used to create principles of collaboration between indigenous (Sherman Indian Museum) and non-indigenous institutions (California State University, San Bernadino). It underscores the importance of ensuring that the process to digitize and make materials related to an American Indian boarding school accessible online in a culturally-responsible and -responsive manner. This well written article highlights the importance of engaging with PNAAM and provides a template for similar projects.
The articles can be accessed at the Journal of Western Archives website (https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/westernarchives/) or by using the following links:
· The Lois Seis de Boulder Sculpture Project: A Case Study of Socially Engaged Archivist/Artist Collaboration at the University of Colorado
· Mrs. His Name: Reparative Description as a Tool for Cultural Sensitivity and Discoverability
· Leveraging the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials to Support Indigenous Digital Collections: A Case Study from the Sherman Indian Museum Digital Project
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J. Gordon Daines
Curator of Research and Instruction Services
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT
gordon_daines@byu.edu------------------------------