When: Sep. 9, Oct 27, Nov 11, and Dec 1, 2026
Where: Online, Zoom Webinar
Cost: $50 per webinar or $150 when you register for all four webinars. Register by Sep 7, 2026 for the series discount!
WiLS members and employees of tribal cultural institutions can save even more!
Program #: 332227
Need to pay by check? You can register my mail. Please complete our registration form and mail in with full payment. The program number for this event is 332227.
Payment and Cancellation Policy
Questions? Email the CE Team
What does it look like to truly Indigenize the structures of our libraries, archives, and museums? Indigenizing Information Institutions is a webinar series designed for librarians and information professionals across all sectors who are committed to centering Indigenous knowledge, protocols, and sovereignty within their collections and services.
This series bridges the gap between traditional library and information practices and Indigenous ways of knowing. Whether you are working within a Tribal Nation or managing Indigenous materials in a public or academic institution, these sessions provide the critical framework and practical tools needed to move beyond “inclusion” and toward a transformative model of stewardship.
Each webinar will be presented live with captions, and recordings will be available to registered attendees. Recordings will be available through January 31, 2027.
- Beyond Ownership: Indigenous Data Sovereignty and the Future of Stewardship
- Teaching Indigenous Knowledge in Non-Tribal Academic Courses
- Beyond Networking: Building Community Through Indigenous Archival Practice and Professional Service
- Centering Indigenous Voices: Inside the Library of Congress Indigenous Subject Headings Project
This webinar series is in collaboration with the Tribal, Libraries, Archives, and Museum (TLAM) program. The TLAM Program combines coursework, service learning, and student group efforts to bring Indigenous perspectives to learning about libraries, archives, and museums.
Beyond Ownership: Indigenous Data Sovereignty and the Future of Stewardship
Monique Tyndall
Sept 9, 2026, 12-1 PM CST
Registration closes Sept 7 at 12:00 PM CST
Western frameworks often reduce information management to concepts of property, copyright, and institutional ownership, but, for Indigenous peoples, data is deeply tied to collective rights, cultural heritage, and self-determination. In this session, we will move beyond standard institutional practices to explore the core principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Data Governance. Participants will learn how to shift from a model of colonial “ownership” to one of collaborative, respectful stewardship. Whether you manage Indigenous materials in a public, academic, or tribal institution, this webinar will provide actionable frameworks—including the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance—to help you align your collections and services with Indigenous rights and sovereignty.
Monique Tyndall (she/they/naakmãawã) is 2nd Degree Midewiwin belonging to the Three Fires Medicine Lodge, a citizen of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans and of the Omaha and Muskogee-Creek communities and raised on the Stockbridge-Munsee reservation located on Oma͞eqnomenew-ahkew. Holding a bachelors in Museum Studies from the Institute of American Indian Arts and masters in Cultural Sustainability from Goucher College, herprofessional career reflects the braiding of traditional knowledge, archives, and social justice. Her contributions to broader Tribal libraries, archives, and museums’ community network can be found at The College of Menominee Nation, A.E.M. Library/Museum (Stockbridge-Munsee), Museum of Contemporary Native American Art, National Museum of the American Indian, National Park Service, Mukurtu, and Local Contexts.
From 2022-2025 she was appointed by her Tribal Nation to coordinate the return of 372.5 acres of Maaswuseexay, a sacred mountain in Mohican Territory located today in what is known as Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Through the support of archival materials, the state awarded her proposal with a grant to the tribe to acquire the northern slope. In 2026 she joined her data sovereignty colleagues at Local Contexts (New York, NY) as the Outreach Coordinator for Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science (CBIKS) at University of Massachusetts-Amherst. With a background in Indigenous arts, community archives, research, and cultural sustainability, Monique brings a community-centered approach to supporting the intergenerational mission and vision of Turtle Island.
Teaching Indigenous Knowledge in Non-Tribal Academic Courses
Mary Rodriguez-Sweeney
Oct 27, 2026, 12-1 PM CST
Registration closes Oct 23 at noon
Non-Tribal university settings often frame information science through dominant academic systems that marginalize Indigenous ways of knowing and reinforce racial and social inequities. Attendees will discuss how Indigenous lenses can reshape teaching on privacy, algorithmic bias, information behavior, and access while identifying objectives for designing courses that challenge disciplinary assumptions and better serve Indigenous people and their communities.
Mary Rodriguez-Sweeney (they/them) is a descendent of the Raramuri people in Northern Mexico and is the Area and Interdisciplinary Studies Teaching Librarian at the University of California, Riverside. They are also a curator and artist focusing on Indigenous knowledge systems and their teaching focus is information literacy and library skills. Their work delves into interdisciplinary studies focusing on minority voices, expanding out of the academic field and into their own artwork. Mary has worked extensively with Native communities across California and the Pacific North West while they have developed their pedagogical praxis and artistic portfolio. Mary has experience teaching both a for-credit information literacy course and one-shots for library instruction. They prioritize student-lead, query based class discussion around information and ways of understanding the information ecosystem.
Beyond Networking: Building Community Through Indigenous Archival Practice and Professional Service
Kelley Hummingbird
Nov 11, 2026, 12-1 PM CST
Registration closes Nov 9 at noon
Professional organizations can be more than résumé builders. They can become spaces of mentorship, collaboration, advocacy, and belonging. In this webinar, we’ll discuss pathways into professional service and leadership through experiences in information science, higher education, and the Society of American Archivists Native American Archives Section. Drawing from work related to the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials (PNAAM) and the Principles in Indigenous Archival Repatriation (PINAR), the session will explore how relationship-building, meaningful volunteer work, and professional engagement can foster community, create opportunities, and help students and professionals alike find supportive networks within academia and library and information sciences.
Kelley Hummingbird (Cherokee Nation) is a Research Associate at the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and a PhD student in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama. She is also an instructor in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama and an adjunct instructor in the School of Information Studies at Louisiana State University. Her research focuses on Indigenous inclusion, archival education, and Indigenous archival practice within library and information science.
Centering Indigenous Voices: Inside the Library of Congress Indigenous Subject Headings Project
Sarah R. Kostelecky
Dec 1, 2026, 12-1 PM CST
Registration closes Nov 27 at noon
In searching library catalogs for Native American content, you have likely seen the outdated and problematic subject headings created by The Library of Congress to describe these materials. LC is now working to improve the subject headings describing Indigenous people and cultures. Sarah Kostelecky, an enrolled citizen of Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, served as the first ever employee focused on these headings, researching and directly engaging with Native American people to get feedback about their preferred terms for themselves and their history, knowledge, and culture. In this talk Sarah will share stories of her time working on the project including creating an Indigenous consultation group, examples of problematic headings and hierarchies in LC subject headings, and where the work stands now.
Attendees will learn about the background and goals of the project, get an update on the current status of the efforts, and understand the ways they can share their feedback on Indigenous subject headings with the Library of Congress.
Sarah R. Kostelecky (Zuni Pueblo) is an associate professor, librarian, and director of the Indigenous Nations Library Program (INLP) at the University of New Mexico Libraries in Albuquerque. She previously served as the director of Digital Initiatives and Scholarly Communication for UNM Libraries. In 2024-2025 Sarah held the position of the first Program Specialist (Indigenous Peoples) at the Library of Congress, a role focused on updating inaccurate Indigenous subject headings. She is the co-author of Cultural Humility: A Special Report and co-editor of Hopeful Visions, Practical Actions: Cultural Humility in Library Work, both from ALA Editions.
Accessibility
Real-time live captions (not computer-generated) will be provided for all virtual sessions. Attendees can access these captions through Zoom or the provide Stream Text URL. The Stream Text URL will also allow attendees to change the font type and size as needed.
All webinar recordings will also have closed captions available.
The Information School is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible event. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact the iSchool CE Team at ce-info@ischool.wisc.edu at least two weeks in advance of the conference. We will attempt to implement late requests but cannot guarantee they will be met.