Principles in Indigenous Archival Repatriation approved as new standard by SAA Council

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) Archival Repatriation Committee is pleased to announce that SAA Council approved the "Principles in Indigenous Archival Repatriation” (PINAR) as a professional standard on August 24, 2025. PINAR marks the culmination of work begun by the committee in 2022 to create professional guidance for the ethical return of archival materials to Indigenous communities, in line with the committee's charge: https://www2.archivists.org/governance-manual/archival-repatriation-committee.

Read PINAR and a brief report on its creation here: https://www2.archivists.org/groups/archival-repatriation-committee/principles-in-indigenous-archival-repatriation

PINAR is also available in the SAA Standards Portal: https://www2.archivists.org/standards/principles-in-indigenous-archival-repatriation-pinar

Authors of the final version of PINAR include: 

• Terry Baxter, SAA Past President and Council Liaison
• Vina Begay (Diné Nation), Labriola National American Indian Data Center, Arizona State University
• Megan K. Friedel, University of Colorado Boulder Libraries
• Kelley Hummingbird (Cherokee Nation), College of Communication and Information Science, University of Alabama
• Diana Marsh, College of Information, University of Maryland 
• Ricardo L. Punzalan, School of Information, University of Michigan 
• Jacob Savory (The Chickasaw Nation), Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
• Kevin Schlottmann, Columbia University Libraries 
• Jack Schmitt, Benson Ford Research Center, The Henry Ford 
• Melissa Stoner (Navajo), Ethnic Studies Library, University of California, Berkeley

Visit the Archival Repatriation Committee microsite for more information about the committee's ongoing work: https://www2.archivists.org/groups/archival-repatriation-committee