Turtle Talk

Recent reports indicate that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is moving forward with plans to close several regional archives facilities, including the Chicago Regional Archives and Federal Records Center, the San Francisco (San Bruno) Regional Archives and Federal Records Center, and the Seattle Federal Records Center. Although these closures are underway, little public information has been released about what’s happening.

Last week, three of the nation’s leading archival organizations — the Society of American Archivists (SAA), the Council of State Archivists (CoSA), and the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA) — issued a joint statement expressing alarm about both the closures and the lack of transparency surrounding them. They note that, while NARA has legitimate fiscal pressures and has appropriately transitioned toward electronic records management, permanent archival collections remain physically housed at these facilities and continue to be heavily used by researchers, governments, veterans, students, historians, and the public. The organizations specifically emphasize that NARA has yet to explain how access to these permanent records will be maintained or whether affected stakeholders and Tribal Nations have been consulted.

For all Tribes, these closures would cause serious harms.

Regional NARA facilities contain the documentary record of the federal government’s relationship with Tribal Nations. Depending on the region, these collections include BIA records, treaty implementation files, agency and superintendent correspondence, allotment and probate records, census rolls, Indian boarding school records, land and trust property records, litigation files, maps, photographs, and countless other records documenting the federal trust relationship.

For the Great Lakes, the Chicago Regional Archives are especially significant. Chicago’s NARA facility includes records from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. Tribes regularly consult these collections to reconstruct treaty history, document reservation boundaries, establish citizenship and ancestry, conduct repatriation research, investigate boarding school histories, support litigation, and preserve tribal history. While NARA has digitized a fraction of these records, substantial portions of these collections remain accessible only through in-person research. A recent statement of the Chicago Area Archivists on the impact of closing NARA Chicago is here.

If these collections are relocated to more distant facilities, the practical consequences would be dire. Increased travel costs, reduced accessibility, and longer wait times would all create barriers for everyone seeking access to records documenting their communities.

In addition, we have little information about where permanent archival collections will ultimately reside, how public access will be preserved, or whether Tribal consultation has occurred. The joint statement issued by SAA, CoSA, and NAGARA specifically calls for consultation with Tribal Nations located near the records held in Chicago and San Francisco because of their unique governmental, cultural, and historical interests.

There’s also an important recent precedent from 2020 and 2021:

In January 2020, OMB announced plans to sell the Seattle National Archives facility. That proposal prompted strong opposition from Tribal Nations, states, historians, archivists, researchers, and members of Congress. Litigation followed, resulting in a preliminary injunction blocking the sale of the facility. Subsequently, the OMB withdrew approval of the closure in 2021, explaining that the process had failed to comply with the Biden Administration’s Tribal consultation policy. OMB concluded that any future effort affecting the facility would have to be preceded by meaningful Tribal consultation and a new administrative process supported by an adequate factual record.

The pleadings, briefing, and other documents from that litigation remain available on Turtle Talk.

At this stage, it’s unclear what opportunities will exist for consultation or public input regarding the Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle facilities. These archives contain irreplaceable records documenting the histories, governments, lands, and legal relationships of Tribal Nations throughout the United States. Decisions about their future shouldn’t occur without transparency or meaningful consultation with the governments whose histories they preserve.

If anyone is aware of additional information regarding NARA’s plans, Tribal consultation efforts, or responses by Tribal governments or organizations, let us know. We’ll share updates as we learn about them.