Preserving Indigenous Design: A Digital Humanist Approach

          This paper argues that a digital archive of Native American expression through clothing and beadwork will not only provide new forms of meaning through material culture, but will also preserve indigenous... [ view full abstract ]

          This paper argues that a digital archive of Native American expression through clothing and beadwork will not only provide new forms of meaning through material culture, but will also preserve indigenous histories. My project, which uses the publishing platform Omeka, is organized into multiple interconnected collections. The collections document not only images of American Indian dress over time and by location, but also trace commonalities and shifts in clothing designs and symbols. Furthermore, these collections will pair pieces of clothing or designs with oral and written narratives, songs, letters, and journals. 

            I suggest that presenting images of Native dress online allows scholars worldwide to see the effects of removal, which led to both imitation between neighboring tribes and forced adoption of Anglo-American style through boarding schools and other cultural assimilation practices. My project also has implications for ecocritics as well as biologists and zoologists. I explain that an examination of the types of skins, bones, feathers, quills, and shells used by and across various tribes over time may allow us to trace ecological change. Historians, educators, and clothing preservationists could benefit from this resource as well. Despite the utility of this exhibit, the crucial component of my methodology is the collaboration with contemporary Native communities in shaping their own representation. Since Native dress and design continues to be appropriated by white audiences as it has been for centuries, the exhibit will also provide links to contemporary clothing companies owned by American Indians.