Museums, libraries, archives, and cultural institutions house collections that tell stories about our past, but many of these collections were created through exploitation and colonization. Because of this history, it is essential for institutions today to center empathy, community partnerships, and ethics when working with cultural heritage materials. Digitization offers new opportunities to reconnect with communities and to reevaluate the practices through which archives have operated.
This week’s readings focused on digital repatriation and the archival ethics of centering people in the preservation of cultural heritage. In “From Human Rights to Feminist Ethics: Radical Empathy in the Archives,” Caswell and Cifor argue that archivists have an obligation of care that extends to record creators, record subjects, users, and the broader community. They advocate for practicing radical empathy, which encourages archivists to focus not only on preservation and access but also on the lived experiences of the people represented in archival materials.
One example from this piece that stood out was the discovery of a suicide note during the digitization of materials for the South Asian American Digital Archive. The note was clearly marked with the instruction that no one else should read it. Although the creator had passed away many years earlier, the archivist honored this request and chose not to make the note publicly accessible. This moment illustrates how applying radical empathy to archival work means placing people at the center of decision-making. Caswell and Cifor note how the practice of centering people may involve small gestures, such as offering tissues at a reading room desk or more complex decisions regarding the digitization of materials. The authors remind us that the value of an archive lies not only in the records themselves but also in the people whose lives those records represent.
Kimberly Christen’s “Opening Archives: Respectful Repatriation” presents a similar focus on community and care. Christen discusses a collaborative digital repatriation project involving Plateau tribes and highlights the important role of the Mukurtu content management platform. Unlike other digital archival systems, Mukurtu allows communities to define their own levels of access and ensures that cultural heritage materials are viewed and shared in ways that respect tribal customs. Many Indigenous communities have sacred items or knowledge that can only be viewed by specific members. Mukurtu accommodates these cultural practices through customized logins that reflect tribal hierarchy. By centering the community, digital archives become tools of empowerment for Indigenous communities who can reclaim control over how their cultural heritage is represented.
All in all, these readings demonstrate a positive shift in archival practice. They encourage institutions to move from institutional authority to an approach that prioritizes community collaboration and care. Repatriation in both physical and digital forms is not only about returning objects. It is also about restoring agency and honoring cultural traditions. As institutions continue to digitize, it is important to ensure that the stories held in the archives remain connected to the communities from which they came.