Digitizing the Moving Images of the Colorado Plateau and the American Southwest

FAIN: PW-277441-21

Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ 86011-0001)
Peter Runge (Project Director: July 2020 to present)
Samantha Meier (Co Project Director: July 2021 to present)
Kelly Phillips (Co Project Director: July 2021 to present)

The digitization of 400 rare and unique moving images documenting the human and natural history of the Colorado Plateau and the American Southwest, which would be made accessible through the Colorado Plateau Digital Archives at Northern Arizona University. The library would work with the Hopi Tribe, the Hualapai Tribe, and Diné College on the Navajo Nation to digitize and create access to additional films that are held by these partners.

Archival moving image materials have immense value for researchers, scholars, students, faculty, documentary filmmakers, K-12 educators, historians, and the general population. Cline Library's Special Collections and Archives (SCA) seeks funding to support the digitization of rare and unique moving images documenting the human and natural history of the Colorado Plateau. The 400 moving images in question are held by SCA and three regional cultural heritage partners: the Hopi Tribe, the Hualapai Tribe, and Diné College on the Navajo Nation (see Appendix letters). All together these moving images offer a glimpse into the collective past of the American Southwest as recorded on film. The digitized moving image content will be accessible online through the Colorado Plateau Digital Archives at NAU and selected titles will also be made available through the online digital resource Tribesourcing.