Two years ago, University of Michigan School of Information associate professor Ricky Punzalan embarked on a mission: Decolonize the Philippine Collections at the University of Michigan.

Punzalan wanted to understand why these historical records weren’t in the hands of the communities who needed them most, but rather at U-M, which owns one of the largest collections of Filipino artifacts outside of the Philippines. 

Over the next two years, Punzalan worked with Deirdre de la Cruz, associate professor of history at the College of Literature Sciences and the Arts, to repair the damaging colonial history of the U-M Philippine collections and design new models for engaging community members and scholars with the wealth of Filipino history stored at U-M. 

This past summer, Punzalan concluded the final phase of the project. Working closely with Analyn Salavador Amores, professor of anthropology at the University of the Philippines Baguio and scholar of the region, he led a team of U-M scholars on a visit to various communities and institutions in the Philippine Cordillera to donate copies of archival documents, photographs and 3-D prints of cultural items that were originally taken by Americans and stored for decades at the University of Michigan. 

“It’s really important for the community to have copies of these artifacts,” Punzalan says. “We held turnover ceremonies and discussed with communities on how we might best provide copies and make these collections more accessible to people in the Philippines.” 

The artifacts, Punzalan says, are incredibly useful to communities. They capture local culture and the history of Indigenous people, their ancestors and the geography. 

“The question I ask is if these images belong on museum walls, why can’t they also belong in living room walls?” Punzalan says. “These are people’s grandparents and granduncles. Why are they displayed and available in libraries and museums, but not prominently displayed in the communities they come from?” 

Punzalan says there’s a “big emphasis” right now on the digitization of cultural collections, but these efforts can leave Indigenous communities still unable to access artifacts. This, Punzalan says, is why connecting with people is critical. 

“In many remote areas of the Philippines, we know that electricity is limited, as is access to broadband and data. Computer and internet access aren’t reliable, and an elementary school may only have one or two shared computers,” Punzalan says. “We have to go to the community, create dialogue and meet with people. You have to hand-deliver.” 

“I don’t think a database or a website is a substitute for a relationship that was never formed in the first place.” 

Punzalan says he returned from the Philippines with two main takeaways: “Information work requires building relationships and human beings connecting” and the beauty of the turnover ceremonies hosted by the communities, which allowed space for friendships and important conversations to emerge. 

The next phase of the ReConnect/ReCollect project is to create a toolkit for others to emulate the steps of the project, share information on the work that’s been completed and document the efforts that have gone into sharing these collections back to the Philippine source communities. 

RELATED

Read more about the ReConnect/ReCollect project. 

This project and trip was done in collaboration with Analyn Salvador-Amores (professor of anthropology, University of the Philippines), Alexis Antracoli (director, Bentley Historical Library), Jim Moss (collections manager, U-M Museum of Anthropological Archaeology), Diana Bachman (assistant director for research services, Bentley Historical Library), Deirdre de la Cruz (associate professor of history at the College of Literature Sciences and the Art at U-M), Orlando de Guzman (visual journalist and cinematographer), and Jesse Johnston (clinical assistant professor, UMSI). Indigenous culture bearers, Cathy Ekid Domigyay (master textile weaver) and Johnny Bangao, Jr. (master basket weaver) also participated and guided the U-M group on this trip. 

Read more about Ricky Punzalan’s research and work by visiting his UMSI faculty profile.