Dispatches from the Field: Student Archivists and BIPOC Memory (NEA Big Read Phoenix 2021)

ASU student workers Elizabeth Quiroga, Lourdes Pereira, Mia Johnson and Myra Khan join ASU Library Specialist Jessica Salow for a conversation on what a community archive is, how it can help people work through historical trauma, and how it creates an ongoing source of strength for the community at Dispatches from the Field: Student Archivists and BIPOC Memory on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Phoenix MST on Zoom as part of the NEA Big Read Phoenix 2021.

Presented in partnership with the Community Driven Archives Initiative and the Labriola National American Indian Data Center at ASU Library. To learn more about the NEA Big Read, visit our website at http://piper.asu.edu/nea-big-read.

About the Speakers
Jeremia “Mia” Johnson (she/her) is a member of the Navajo Nation. She is an undergraduate student studying Applied Computing at Arizona State University, as well as a Student Archivist of the Labriola National American Indian Data Center. She has been with the Labriola Center since February 2020. Mia has been a member of ASU organizations such as the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and held several officer positions with the Engineers Without Borders ASU Chapter, and has contributed to winning organization awards and funding.

Myra Khan (she/her) is a current undergraduate junior at ASU majoring in Sustainability and minoring in Political Science and Transborder Studies as well as the Lead Student Archivist of the ASU Library Community-Driven Archives (CDA). She has been on the CDA team since February 2019 and works on expanding access to educational archival materials for marginalized communities. In the future, Myra hopes to apply to law school and apply her experiences to studying public interest law.

Lourdes Pereira (Hia-Ced O’odham and Yoeme) is a sophomore at Arizona State University (ASU) and a student archivist at the Labriola National American Indian Datacenter. She is majoring in Justice Studies and American Indian Studies. Lourdes sits on the American Indian Advisory Council for the Arizona Education Department and is Miss Indigenous ASU for 2020-2021. Lourdes is a fierce advocate for Indigenous rights and views community-driven archives as a source of empowerment for Indigenous communities.

Elizabeth Quiroga (Tohono O’odham) is an undergraduate at Arizona State University majoring in Social Justice and Human Rights with a minor in American Indian Studies. She has been working as a Student Archivist at the Labriola Center since January 2021 and manages its social media accounts. After Elizabeth graduates, she plans to apply the knowledge she has gained from working with community-driven archives and use it to decolonize and indigenize the education system.

Jessica Salow is currently a Specialist at Arizona State University Library with the Community-Driven Archives Initiative (CDA) which was established in 2017 through the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Her current work with the CDA team focuses on building relationships with historically marginalized communities (Latinx, Black, Asian & Pacific Islander, Indigenous and the LGBTQ+) in Arizona.

About the NEA Big Read: Phoenix
This event was presented as part of the NEA Big Read: Phoenix, celebrating Indigenous literary arts and culture in the Valley with over 25 talks, workshops, performances, book clubs, art exhibits other virtual events inspired by The Round House by Louise Erdrich. The NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The NEA Big Read: Phoenix was presented by the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University with additional support from Arizona Humanities, Phoenix Public Library, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Humanities Division at ASU, and over 40 authors, performers, and community organizations. Find events, meet our partners, and start reading today at http://piper.asu.edu/big-read.