College English Nov 2013

Wampum, Sequoyan, and Story: Decolonizing the Digital Archive

Ellen Cushman

Abstract

Archives have a long and troubled history as imperialist endeavors. Scholars of digital archives can begin to decolonize the archive by asking, how is knowledge imparted, in what media, by whom, and for what ends? Drawing on a six-year-long ethnohistorical study of Cherokee language and writing, I explore these questions and analyze the epistemological work of wampum, Sequoyan, and digital storytelling. I argue that decolonial digital archives have built into them the instrumental, historical, and cultural meanings of whatever media they include. To be understood in and on their terms, these media need to be contextualized within the notions of time, social practices, stories, and languages that lend them meaning.

Journal
College English
Published
2013-11-01
DOI
10.58680/ce201324269
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
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