Engaging with Native and Indigenous Heritage: Guide to Indigenous Maryland

Sunday, January 29, 2023

3:30 PM – 4:45 PM

Location: Morial Convention Center, Room 393-394

Level of Participation: High

Learn how Maryland's public libraries collaborated to develop an educational resource to engage the general public with local Native and Indigenous heritage and culture. Curated by Dr. Elizabeth Rule (Choctaw Nation) of American University, "Guide to Indigenous Maryland" is an educational mobile app and website that invites the general public to discover and honor the presence of Native and Indigenous heritage in contemporary life. The project exemplifies how creativity, technology, and cross-disciplinary partnerships advance the visibility and recognition of Native and Indigenous communities at the local level. It was developed with support from Institute of Museum and Library Services Library Services and Technology Act funds administered by Maryland State Library Agency and the Prince George's County Memorial Library System. Over 115 crowdsourced submissions formed the basis of the curated selection of 21 sites featured in the Guide, ranging from historical land markers and natural features to contemporary art and cultural heritage facilities. Library workers will learn best practices for advancing the visibility of Native and Indigenous communities through creative community engagement work and content development.

Learning Objectives:

develop community engagement programs and resources that advance the visibility of Native and Indigenous communities for the general public in a local setting.
establish partnerships with cultural heritage and tribal organizations to ensure that Native and Indigenous perspectives are central to determining how their communities' stories are told.
create a crowdsourced educational tool with a process for maintaining authority control over content.
engage scholars and representatives of tribal nations to expand public libraries' capacity for developing and presenting or offering Native and Indigenous cultural heritage programs and resources.
conduct an assessment of the representation of Native and Indigenous heritage in existing library programs, collections, and services.

Content Leader(s)

Nicholas A. Brown, MSLIS, MMus (he/him/his)

Acting Co-Chief Executive Officer & COO for Communication and Outreach
Prince George’s County Memorial Library System
Elizabeth Rule, PhD (she/her/hers)

Dr. Elizabeth Rule is Assistant Professor of Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies
American University
Tamar Sarnoff, PhD

Director, Public Libraries & State Networking Branch
Maryland State Library Agency