Please join us for the "Grounding Archival Knowledge: Maawn Doobiigeng in the Library" event on February 26, 2025 12–1pm Boston, 9–10am Oakland, 5–6pm London. This hybrid event will take place in person in Boston at the Centers for Digital Scholarship, 360 Snell Library, and on Zoom.

Existing organizational systems including Dewey and Library of Congress Classification are inherently biased toward Indigenous peoples and are insufficient for accurately describing and providing access to Native topics. From 2019 to 2024, the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries worked with community members to create a new classification system, Maawn Doobiigeng (Gather Together). Attendees will learn about the process of creating this new system, how it is being implemented, and how it is being used by staff and patrons.

Following the talks, there will be time for questions and discussion among the presenters and attendees. We hope to see you there!

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. RSVP here.

Featuring:

Dr. Gordon Henry

Gordon Henry is an enrolled member/citizen of the White Earth Anishinaabe Nation in Minnesota. Until recently, he served as the Audrey and John C. Leslie, Endowed Chair in American Indian Literature in the English Department at Michigan State University, where he taught American Indian Literature, Creative Writing and the Creative Process, in Integrative Arts and Humanities. He also served as Senior Editor of the American Indian Studies Series (series sub-imprints Mukwa Enewed and Sovereign Traces) at Michigan State University Press. Under his editorship the AISS has published over twenty-five volumes of research, criticism and creative work by an array of scholars, working in a variety of disciplines, related to the larger field of American Indian Studies.

Anne Heidemann

Anne Heidemann has served in libraries for 25 years, and the past 11 as the Tribal Librarian for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. In this role and working alongside two Library Assistants, she is responsible for the Tribal Library and Tribal College Library, both of which are open to the public, as well as the Wii Maajiikwad Library, which serves the immersion preschool and K-5 elementary school operated by the Tribe.

Melissa Isaac

Melissa Isaac is a dedicated advocate for Indigenous education and mental health services. A citizen of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, she has been instrumental in promoting educational opportunities for Native youth.  In her current role leading the Michigan Department of Education's Indigenous Education Initiative, Isaac works to enhance educational achievement for Native American students across the state. Her commitment to education and mental health advocacy has been recognized at the national level. In March 2022, she was invited by First Lady Jill Biden to attend President Biden's State of the Union address. She has publicly advocated against censorship in education, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging systemic issues to foster understanding and progress.