Digitize and Create Online Access to Objects of Native American Collections

FAIN: PW-51209-12

Washington State University (Pullman, WA 99164-0001)
Kimberly A. Christen (Project Director: July 2011 to April 2017)

The cataloging and digitization of archival, library, and artifact collections documenting Native American history and culture in the Western Plateau region for inclusion in Washington State University's People's Plateau Portal, a reference resource linking cultural resources and regional indigenous cultures by allowing for the interpretation of these materials by native communities.

We are seeking an NEH Humanities Collections and Reference Resources grant to expand the existing Plateau Peoples' Web Portal by digitizing significant archive, museum and library collections related to the history of the Plateau peoples and region. Using the innovative interface and collections management system already in place in the portal we will expand the archival record and range of expert knowledge associated with the collections by facilitating the inclusion of Native and Humanities scholars' knowledge alongside standard archival metadata. In this third phase of an on-going collaborative project we propose to build on the existing open-access web-resource, technological platforms and tribal, academic and museum partnerships to produce a rich, extensive, sustainable and fully interoperable web portal linking Plateau nations, scholars and collecting institutions in a mutually beneficial relationship.