Monday, 6/2/97 Making sure ethnic studies thrives Diverse campus
needs healthy ethnic research centers
By Mike McLaughlin On May 15, there was a working conference
titled "Ethnic Studies at UCLA: Planning for the Next 25 Years,"
co-sponsored by the office of Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, vice
chancellor of graduate-division academic affairs, and the Institute
of American Cultures in conjunction with the Center for African
American Studies, American Indian Studies Center, Asian American
Studies Center and the Chicano Studies Research Center.
Administrators, ethnic studies faculty, staff and students were on
hand to offer their concerns and suggestions regarding the next 25
years of ethnic studies. One of the concerns raised was student
involvement in the next 25 years. This question was posed more than
once, and in the opinion of many, was not sufficiently addressed.
Students make this world of UCLA spin, and with regard to the
ethnic studies centers, students have been a driving force in their
creation and development. As a spokesman for the American Indian
Graduate Students Association (AIGSA) at UCLA, I do not want to put
administrators on the defensive, but I do believe that we deserve
the respect of having our voice heard in any exchange of ideas that
may lead to dramatic changes in our education here at UCLA. We are
not speaking out fear of any administrative conspiracy to diminish
our programs or in an effort to maintain the status quo. We are
merely speaking as students who do have a stake in the future of
these programs. Our vision is not just a list of idealized demands.
Our vision stems from years of involvement in the community and
within the American Indian studies program. We understand that this
is an on-going and complicated process that may or may not result
in serious restructuring of the existing programs and research
centers. We also understand that student involvement is not a
priority in Murphy Hall. Despite the fact that our participation in
the planning for the next 25 years of ethnic studies at UCLA is not
on the formal agenda, we will continue to advocate for the concerns
of the American Indian community and fellow UCLA students. The
following statement concerns AIGSA’s position regarding the
American Indian Studies Library that was recently closed and
re-opened. A recent history of the library: Vee Salabiye, the
American Indian Studies Center librarian, passed away in 1996. The
library remained open, staffed by student workers. The library was
closed in January 1997 due in part to staffing problems. Protest of
the closure by an ad-hoc committee consisting of American Indian
studies staff, faculty and students caused the library to be
reopened staffed by a part-time librarian. Concurrently, AIGSA
learned of the proposed restructuring of the ethnic studies centers
by Mitchell-Kernan, under whose management the centers and their
respective libraries operate. The ad-hoc committee, primarily
through AIGSA, has continued to affirm to the vice chancellor and
to American Indian Studies Center Director Duane Champagne the need
to retain the library. At present, Champagne has committed to
keeping the library open and is forming a job search for a
full-time librarian. The office of Mitchell-Kernan continues to
formulate an ethnic studies restructuring plan. UCLA’s vision of
the ethnic studies centers libraries needs to: (1) Re-affirm the
past 30 years of investment in the ethnic studies by re-emphasizing
the unique qualities of each center and increasing the available
resources to pave the way for growth into such areas as comparative
studies. (2) Recommit policy and resources to ensure UCLA’s role as
an international resource for ethnic studies, and secure and
promote these libraries as vital components of ethnic studies
research for the UCLA community and beyond. (3) Continue the
libraries’ contributions to faculty research and teaching, to
specialized publications, and to the work of successful graduate
students whose careers enhance UCLA’s prestige in the national and
international academic communities. (4) Direct resources and
expertise in grant-writing support to assist these libraries in
fund raising to increase their viability and visibility. These
collections need continual updating to support the type of research
required to retain UCLA’s academic pre-eminence in the area of
American ethnic studies; any restructuring must formally recognize
and commit policy and resources to retain their unique identities.
If organized under one organizational structure, there must be a
commitment to have separate information specialists and maintenance
of unique resources and collections for each ethnic-studies
component. Why is the American Indian Studies Library unique?
American Indian studies has a unique place in American history due
to the fact that American Indians are the only "ethnicity" with
separate, sovereign-nation status formally, recognized by the
United States, whose fundamental internal and external
relationships are tribal, not individual, in nature. It is an area
of study which is intrinsically cross-cultural, as it covers over
500 tribes whose languages and cultures are distinct from one
another. The complexities and intricacies of American Indian
history and culture require very specific research strategies,
often cryptic information sources and specialized information tools
to provide access to them. Unlike a general academic library (like
the University Research Library), the American Indian Studies
Library contains obscure and often out-of-print tribal newsletters,
original and copies of historic documents, letters, personal papers
and has developed specialized finding aids to cross-reference and
navigate this diverse and vast body of relevant information
sources. Unlike a general academic library, the American Indian
Studies Library’s focus on cultures whose primary interactions are
largely outside mainstream academic and cultural institutions
directly incorporates the on-going knowledge and resources
contributed by students, visiting lecturers, visiting faculty and
tribal representatives. Their personal, academic and nonacademic
experience contribute to the expansion and, in some instances, the
clarification of existing knowledge. Increasing interaction among
tribal and nontribal peoples – individuals, organizations,
corporations, and governments – continues to expand and diversify
the universe of resources relevant to the research and teaching of
American Indian studies. This expansion and diversification of
relevant resources necessitates continual incorporation and
updating of materials and information access tools to manage and
provide access to the burgeoning information essential to the
research and teaching mission of UC. AIGSA believes that a
successful American Indian Studies Library would need to have: (1)
A full-time American Indian studies subject specialist or librarian
and support staff who understand modern research technology and the
specific needs for research in American Indian studies. This
librarian should also have the skills to search out grants to
upgrade the existing library and cultivate community and economic
support for innovative technology and new projects. (2) Sufficient
funding for staff, personnel, acquisitions and overhead to maintain
and expand this unique collection that has developed over the past
27 years and incorporates technology tools – on-line access,
audio-visual equipment, multimedia equipment and Internet
connections. (3) A group study/presentation area, to support
research and teaching. (4) Extended operating hours and convenient
circulation. AIGSA believes that ethnic studies research, teaching
and information centers are indispensable components for the
development of the understandings necessary in an increasingly
diverse and multicultural society. McLaughlin is an officer of the
American Indian Graduate Students’ Association.