Broken Promises: A Case Study in Reconciliation

Abstract

This article examines a long-term collaboration between a nontribal and a tribal organization—Western Washington University and the Lummi Nation. The narrative describes efforts to share and understand the Native cultural resources acquired by the university in the years prior to the development of professional practices for the appropriate management and use of Native American archival materials and explores a series of moral and ethical challenges from both the Native and non-Native perspectives. The article offers strategies for sharing expertise, knowledge, and cultural resources that can assist in addressing historical injustices, misunderstandings, and mistrust founded in the misappropriation of Native heritage by non-Native institutions.