Association of Tribal Archives Libraries

Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan With funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, ATALM has provided over $3.7 million in funding to 118 tribal cultural institutions in 29 states to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and provide humanities programming to their communities. Native cultural institutions used the funds to support staff retention, general operations, humanities-based programming, and provide other cultural activities. Funding was awarded through a competitive, peer-review application process. Awardees are in the process of completing their projects and will provide final reports on their grant accomplishments at the end of the program in February 2024.

General ATALM Programming ATALM programs include 1. Culture Builds Communities project which provides training and resources to Native communities planning and designing cultural facilities; 2. Doris Duke Native Oral History Project which connect Indigenous communities to oral history materials found in seven different universities across the country; 3. Sustaining and Advancing Indigenous Cultures: Developing an Action Plan is a strategic planning initiative to develop a unified approach to strengthening Indigenous cultural institutions; 4. Improving Digital Inclusion and Broadband Infrastructure in Native Communities supports the digital inclusion and broadband infrastructure needs of tribal libraries; 5. The Native Arts and Culture Council helps Native communities to develop cultural plans and establish dedicated community arts agencies; 6. Communities for Immunity is an initiative supporting the work of museums and libraries in engaging their communities in COVID-19 vaccine confidence; and the 7. Managing Audiovisual Collections in Native Cultural Institutions helps tribal communities to preserve and process audiovisuals materials.

International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries, and Museums Through annual conferences ATALM addresses the need for culturally relevant training and professional development of current and emerging staff of Indigenous archives, libraries, and museums. In addition, the conferences provide educational and networking opportunities for non-Native organizations that serve Indigenous audiences or hold Indigenous collections. ATALM2022 was held October 25-27 in Temecula, California. Over 1,200 participants benefited from approximately 174 educational sessions, hands-on labs, and workshops. In early 2023 planning began for the ATALM2023 conference which will be held October 24-26 in Oklahoma City, OK.