Embedded Files
The TLAM Program at the University of Wisconsin - Madison combines coursework, service learning, and student group efforts to bring Indigenous perspectives to learning about libraries, archives, and museums.
The TLAM course is an introduction to indigenous information issues. It is a graduate-level course that emphasizes Indigenous Knowledge and holistic learning within community.
Past Projects highlight the service-learning projects with our tribal cultural institution partners. These include projects at libraries, archives, museums, cultural institutions, and more!
The TLAM Student Group is rooted in continuing the conversation outside of the classroom on the UW- Madison campus and beyond.
Get in Touch!
Get in Touch!
Contact Cassy Leeport
TLAM Program Director at UW-Madison iSchool
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Or reach out to us at: tlam@ischool.wisc.edu
Brief History of TLAM
Brief History of TLAM
Starting in 2008, TLAM has worked to build partnerships, host events, conduct service learning for iSchool students, and be a space for learning and unlearning of many topics related to TLAM.
Over the years, TLAM has seen many faces. These students and alums will always be known as our "TLAMers." These people have contributed to TLAM in many ways. We have created many blog posts, contemplated reflections, hosted and attended events, not to mention the various efforts and projects we have been able to be part of.
Learn more about our TLAM history below!
Our History
Our History
2008 - TLAM Begins
2008 - TLAM Begins
Louise Robbins—then director of the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison—attended a meeting in Wausau with then Associate Director, Michele Besant. This meeting involved discussion of the closing of the library in Red Cliff, but nobody from Red Cliff was at the meeting. Robbins posed the question: “Does the community want it open?” This question is symbolic of the foundational idea of TLAM to create lasting and respectful relationships with tribal nations that center and prioritize tribal nations.
2010 - First Culture Keepers convene at Oneida Nation
2010 - First Culture Keepers convene at Oneida Nation
The majority of Wisconsin’s twelve tribal nations maintain institutions––libraries, archives, and museums––that collect, preserve, and make accessible priceless tribal histories, languages, and cultures. Through oral history projects, government records, family genealogies, and cultural objects, tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators (the Culture Keepers) are critical to preserving––and sharing––the stories of native communities.
Yet despite sharing many commonalities, few professional development and networking opportunities have existed specifically for Wisconsin-based tribal cultural workers. According to one long-time tribal librarian at the Lac du Flambeau Public Library, no statewide professional gatherings have occurred since the early 1970s. Distance and the lack of resources have made attendance of such conferences at the state and national level problematic for many tribal workers.
Convening Culture Keepers was a series of six professional development and networking mini-conferences for tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators serving American Indian communities in Wisconsin. With a successful April 2010 grant proposal, the mini-conferences became a tangible reality with funding from the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment and Morgridge Center for Public Service. Sponsored by the UW-Madison School of Library and Information Studies-Continuing Education Services (SLIS-CES) and endorsed by Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Inc., the day-long biannual gatherings seek to provide culturally-relevant trainings and create enduring professional networks between tribal and non-tribal cultural institutions.
The ultimate outcome of the CCK mini-conferences will be enhanced, culturally-relevant services for tribal communities through better trained cultural workers who can rely on a network of informed and committed co-workers in addition to members of the University of Wisconsin community. To support this, the mini-conferences will circulate among tribal communities in order to enhance overall geographic accessibility, and provide a conference format that includes participatory discussions, workshops, and trainings on topics such as archival best practices, digital collections, indigenous knowledge organization, language revitalization techniques, and oral history projects. The series is also intended to provide an initial infrastructure for professional development and networking, as well as an opportunity to strengthen partnership between the University of Wisconsin and tribal Culture Keepers.
The kickoff mini-conference was hosted by the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin’s Cultural Heritage Department, occurred on October 1-2, 2010, in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
2011 - Student Group Launches
2011 - Student Group Launches
How can we take continue these conversation outside of the classroom? How can we stay involved? Energized by the learning experience of the TLAM class projects and activities, students created the TLAM Student Group at UW-Madison in the fall of 2011.
The mission of the TLAM Student Group, as outlined in the TLAM Student Group Constitution, is to inform and engage members of the UW-Madison community on the issues and challenges found in tribal libraries, archives, and museums through service-learning.
Alongside this goal, this student group creates or attends social and educational outings to create a stronger sense of community among members.
2014 - First Regional Convening of the Great Lakes Culture Keepers at Ziibiwing
2014 - First Regional Convening of the Great Lakes Culture Keepers at Ziibiwing
The project, funded by the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, addresses the complementary needs of LIS graduate students and tribal cultural workers: while LIS students often lack meaningful opportunities to learn about and engage with American Indian information topics, tribal “Culture Keepers” have few accessible opportunities for ongoing professional development and access to technical expertise.
Thanks to the generous support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the School of Library and Information Studies extended its educational initiatives for tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators to include tribal communities and LIS students from throughout Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
In Summer 2013, LIS graduate students worked alongside cultural workers in tribal institutions through a five-week Community Engagement course. Students worked with cultural workers to learn about their professional development priorities by developing a needs assessment with UW-Madison SLIS faculty.
Then, in April 2014, the project culminated in a four-day regional professional development institute at the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. The institute brought together attendees from tribal cultural institutions throughout the Great Lakes. LIS students, primarily from UW-Madison SLIS, also attended sessions and helped with logistics.
2018 - Developing A Traveling Exhibit
2018 - Developing A Traveling Exhibit
Tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators from across Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have been meeting regularly to share, learn, and plan since 2010. The Convening Culture Keepers mini-conferences and regional institutes have helped support a growing regional network of tribal cultural workers.
In May 2015, UW-Madison SLIS received an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to continue professional development gatherings for Great Lakes tribal librarians, archivist, and museum curators.
Most meetings at the Convening Culture Keepers conferences have focused on continuing professional development. However, in October 2014, following a group strategic planning session at the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, tribal representatives prioritized ongoing collaboration by developing a community co-curated traveling exhibition.
This vision was enacting from 2015 to 2018 through utilizing these funds by allocating, planning, and training. The traveling exhibition aimed to tell our collective story by exploring the thematic idea of “We Are Still Here.” The goal is to learn through doing. Many of the classes will incorporate the traveling exhibition through practical, hands-on learning exercises.
2022 - TLAM Reunion
2022 - TLAM Reunion
TLAMers, past and present, joined together in Red Cliff, Wisconsin for October 20th & 21st, 2022 for a proper celebratory reunion. Kathy Miigizibinezik Barri, library staff at Ginanda Gikendaasomin, spearheaded this opportunity for not only those who worked with the Red Cliff project but all TLAMers to do more than just meet together.
This was also a time for TLAMers to share their stories and careers with local school students in Red Cliff. On Thursday afternoon before the reunion, there was a College Fair where UW iSchool students and TLAM alum shared their varied work experiences at the tables. Friday afternoon there was a work party at the Red Cliff Ginanda Gikendaasomin Library. Tours and other activities were planned for Friday or Saturday. On Friday evening, SLIS/iSchool alum and Red Cliff community members shared stories and memories over a feast catered by Joanne Peterson.
This is just one of the many reunions now being facilitated between our many generations of TLAMers!
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