2025 NAAS Steering Committee Elections - Meet Your Candidates!

Thank you to all of our excellent candidates for participating in the 2025 Native American Archives Section election. 

You will be voting for:

• One Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, for a two-year term
• One Steering Committee member, for a two-year term

Ballots will be managed by SAA staff through SurveyMonkey. Please keep an eye on your inbox for when the ballots open! 

Vice Chair/Chair-Elect Candidates

The following candidates are running for the Vice Chair/ Chair-Elect position:

Candy Navarrete Repatriation Coordinator & Native Archives Specialist - Autry Museum of the American West Research Assistant - University of Maryland

Biographical Statement: Candy Navarrete (she/her) is a Repatriation Coordinator and Native Archives Specialist at the Autry Museum of the American West and concurrently, a Research Assistant for the Native and Indigenous Archives and Linked Data project at the University of Maryland. As a Mexican American and enrolled member of the Te-Moak Western Shoshone, she is enthusiastic about improving the representation of Indigenous communities in museums, libraries, and archives.

She holds an MLIS from UCLA and in her professional capacities she centers her work on fostering culturally respectful practices and advancing Indigenous sovereignty through archival repatriation, cultural preservation, and Indigenous data sovereignty. In addition to her professional roles, she is an active member of the Society of American Archivists’ Native American Archives Section and the Association of Tribal Archives, Museums, and Libraries (ATALM) Native Emerging Professionals Network and was a 2023-2024 UCLA Community Archives Lab intern where she worked with the Skid Row History Museum and South Asian American Digital Archives (SAADA).

Candidate Statement: NAAS has long served as a vital platform for advocacy, collaboration, and growth. I am inspired by the work of past leaders and hope to continue building on that momentum—supporting and sustaining efforts like the Indigenous Archival Training (IAT) and PNAAM while encouraging the emergence of new initiatives shaped by current and future generations of Native and Indigenous memory workers.

As an urban Native (Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone) and Mexican American, I bring a deep commitment to memory work that centers Native and underrepresented communities in archives, museums, and libraries. My lived experience, coupled with my professional work as a Native American archivist in Western academic and cultural institutions, has shown me both the gaps that persist in these spaces and the power of community-led initiatives to transform them.

If selected, I look forward to working in a community with fellow archivists committed to advancing equity and accountability in our field. I see this as a meaningful opportunity to contribute my perspective, strengthen our collective voice, and help shape a more inclusive and sustainable future for archives.

Janine Smith University Archivist & Special Collections Registrar - Loyola University, New Orleans

Biographical Statement: Janine Smith is Cheyenne River Lakota descendant and an enrolled citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa, & Arikara Nation. Growing up, her time was split with family in the greater New Orleans area and on the Qualla Boundary (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians). Janine is the University Archivist & Special Collections Registrar for Loyola University New Orleans. She is responsible for developing and managing collections in the University Archives, maintaining collection records and donor relations, and is actively involved in furthering the Monroe Library’s teaching with primary sources initiative.

Janine is a Certified Archivist and holds an MLIS from the University of Southern Mississippi and a B.A. in Education from Southeastern Louisiana University. She has previously worked as a supervising archivist, community college librarian, and secondary English teacher. Her professional interests include cultural preservation, oral histories, social justice, information literacy, and raising awareness around issues that affect Native communities. Her personal interests include traveling with her husband and three kids, reading, enjoying live music, and learning to speak Lakota more fluently.

Candidate Statement: Janine Smith is fairly new to NAAS, having joined in the summer of 2024. She has found NAAS to be so welcoming and the perfect space to interact with and learn from other Native professionals, which she was previously lacking. Janine would follow the tremendous groundwork that has been laid by NAAS leadership. Her vision for the section is to continue to provide a safe space to educate archivists working with Native collections, to increase visibility of the section through various NAAS channels of communication and outreach initiatives, and to continue fostering a relationship of accountability and reciprocity between NAAS and SAA. It would be an honor to serve as Vice Chair.

Steering Committee Member Candidates

The following candidates are running for the Steering Committee Member position:

Analú López Ayer Librarian & Assistant Curator of American Indian and Indigenous Studies - Newberry Library

Biographical Statement: Analú María López (Huachichil/Xi'úi) is a Librarian and Writer living in so-called “Chicago.” Born and raised in the neighborhood of Little Village, where she still resides. She is interested in Black and Indigenous solidarity/resistance movements fighting for liberation from settler colonialism, US imperialism across the globe. Other interests include uplifting historically underrecognized Indigenous narratives, preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages, Decolonial theory, and Native botany and medicines.

In her professional work, she is the Ayer Librarian and Assistant Curator of American Indian and Indigenous Studies at the Newberry Library. As the Ayer librarian and Assistant Curator, she helps steward the Indigenous studies collection while guiding library users through, connecting them with, and interpreting materials linked to the Indigenous Studies collection. She is interested in historically underrepresented Indigenous narratives, preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages, decolonial theory (within Libraries), and intentional community collaborations for access to materials within colonial institutions.

She holds a Master of Library and Information Sciences with a certificate in Archives and Cultural Heritage Resources and Services from Dominican University and a Bachelor of Arts in Photography with a minor in Latin-American Studies from Columbia College Chicago. Mrs. López began her career with the Newberry in 2004. After working for other libraries and museums in Chicago for 13 years, Mrs. López returned to the library in her current role in September 2017.

Candidate Statement: As member-at-large of the Native American Section (NAAS) for the Society of American Archivists (SAA), my vision is to contribute to advancing our fields approach to the ethical stewardship of Native and Indigenous archival materials held within non-tribal, colonial institutions, like the one I currently work at, the Newberry Library in Chicago.

For nearly nine years, I've had the privilege of witnessing personally the significant influence books, manuscripts, and archives have on the communities from which they originate, ranging from hosting trial communities to families onsite.

Similarly, I am committed to ethical stewardship of Native and Indigenous archival materials and ensuring Indigenous knowledge and viewpoints are reflected. The implementation of the Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics (CARE) principles and the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials (PNAAM) is an important step towards repairing years, if not centuries of harm caused to communities from extractive practices. I am also committed to advising non-Indigenous personnel on how to best engage in order to develop meaningful, long-term community relationships.

As a committee member-at-large, I am interested in promoting Native and Indigenous voices first, relational community collaborations, and enhancing archival practices. As a current Kaleidoscope mentor through Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), I am very passionate about recruiting more BIPOC, but particularly, more Native and Indigenous library professionals into our field.

Ugoma Smoke Research Assistant - University Of Maryland

Biographical Statement: Ugoma Smoke (she/her/hers) is currently a Research Assistant at the University of Maryland, where she works on projects focused on Native and Indigenous archives and linked data. Her role directly contributes to Indigenous communities by supporting the preservation, description, and accessibility of Indigenous cultural heritage through collaborative archival initiatives like IndigenizeSNAC and the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR). Ugoma’s work advances equitable representation of Indigenous voices in archival systems and promotes respectful stewardship of Indigenous knowledge.

With over nine years of experience in library, metadata, genealogy, and archival roles, Ugoma has a strong background in preserving BIPOC cultural heritage. Previously, as a Local History Research Assistant at Thomas J. Harrison Pryor Public Library in Pryor, Oklahoma, she revitalized archival storage, conducted genealogy research, managed local history collections, and led digitization efforts that made valuable resources available online. Her passion for Indigenous empowerment was further shaped by her internship at the Cherokee Heritage Center, where she processed and digitized archival materials, helping to preserve Cherokee heritage. As a consultant to SNAC’s Indigenous Description Group and an active member of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA), Ugoma continues to champion Indigenous cultural preservation and access to information. She lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with her husband and 5-year old son.

Candidate Statement: I would like to self-nominate for the Native American Archives Section (NAAS) Steering Committee. My work centers on community archives, BIPOC heritage preservation, and metadata governance. With a background in Art History, Cultural Anthropology, and an MLIS focusing on Digital Preservation and Archives, I’ve supported community-led initiatives as a Local History Research Assistant within Cherokee Nation, and intern at the Cherokee Heritage Center. I currently serve as a Research Assistant at the University of Maryland, contributing to Native and Indigenous Archives and Linked Data projects such as IndigenizeSNAC and CoPAR. Living in Kenwood, OK, within Cherokee Nation, I saw firsthand the barriers communities face in accessing archival resources. I worked with patrons who only knew fragments of their genealogies and lacked spaces to preserve or share their histories.

My intention as a Steering Committee member is to support initiatives that empower Native and Indigenous communities to author and preserve their own histories. I hope to contribute to the development of culturally responsive tools and resources that increase access to archival knowledge while respecting traditional stewardship practices. I also aim to strengthen collaboration among archivists, researchers, and community members by promoting inclusive dialogue, shared learning, and the visibility of Indigenous-led projects.

Emily C. Taina MLIS Student - San José State University

Biographical Statement: Emily Chen Taina is a current MLIS student at San José State University who aspires to work as an academic librarian and archivist. She received a B.S. in Computer Science from Santa Clara University, with additional minors in Mathematics and Women and Gender Studies. Emily is especially interested in working with collections related to South American Indigenous communities. As a current volunteer at UC Berkeley’s Ethnic Studies Library, she digitizes materials within the Native American Studies Collection. Being a Chinese and Quechua library worker, they are committed to making academic libraries and archives an accessible resource for people who have been historically marginalized. Emily is a 2024-2025 American Library Association (ALA) Spectrum Scholar, as well as a 2024 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Kaleidoscope Scholar, and the recipient of the 2025 Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC) Locke Morrisey Scholarship.

Candidate Statement: I am deeply passionate about working with Indigenous communities and collections and wish to strengthen my skills in this area by becoming a member of the NAAS Steering Committee. In my current role as the Stacks and Space Supervisor at Santa Clara University library, I have organized and led several projects aimed at improving accessibility within the physical space of the library by improving signage, collaborating with the county to provide naloxone, and conducting data analysis on collection purchases. As a member of the library’s Popular Reading Committee, I also assist in putting up monthly heritage displays in partnership with student organizations and employee resource groups, as well as run programming events such as movie nights. I wish to apply these skills to help plan, support, and assess NAAS initiatives related to archival training and outreach. As an early career professional, I am eager to contribute to the continued success of the committee’s goals and projects.

Sage Innerarity Researcher and Interviewer - Miwok Heritage Center

Biographical Statement: Sage Innerarity (she/her) is a citizen of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians and a recent graduate of Simmons University School of Library and Information Science, where she received her MS in LIS with concentrations in Cultural Heritage Informatics and Archives Management. Originally from Elk Grove, CA, Innerarity relocated to Massachusetts in 2018 to attend Amherst College, where she graduated magna cum laude with a double major in English and American Studies with concentration in Native American Studies. She was also selected to participate in the second cohort of Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows and was awarded the The George Rogers Taylor Prize for her Summa-recommended thesis entitled “Stealing the Fire: (Re)claiming, (Re)telling, and (Re)covering Miwok Creation Stories and Oral Histories.”

After serving as the Post Baccalaureate Fellow in Native American Literature in the Amherst College Archives, Innerarity found that her passion for Indigenous archives stems from a firm belief that archival institutions have the capacity to serve as spaces for gathering, knowledge creation, reclamation. Her work with the Miwok Heritage Center continues to be a driving force behind her commitment to cultural revitalization efforts in her tribal community. In addition to working as a researcher and interviewer with the Miwok Heritage Center, Sage is an alumni of Native Americans in Philanthropy’s 2023 Native Youth Grantmakers cohort. She is also a 2023-2025 ARL Kaleidoscope Program Scholar, 2023 ALA Spectrum Scholar, and the 2024 recipient of the 2024 SAA Mosaic Scholarship. Innerarity currently serves as a Program Coordinator for Fresh Tracks Action, where her work largely centers around supporting culturally engaged programming in the Native, Indigenous, and Tribal Community of Practice.

Candidate Statement: As a recipient of the Mosaic Scholarship and a beneficiary of the mentorship and relationships within NAAS, I am deeply excited at the opportunity to offer my support and service as a Steering Committee Member-At-Large. In this role, I will offer my skills and experience in research, social media and communications, and program development to complement the expertise and knowledge of current NAAS leadership. As a recently graduated MLIS student, I am uniquely positioned to represent and advocate for the needs of early-career Indigenous archives professionals. Moreover, I hope to support initiatives which expand access to archival knowledges and trainings to Indigenous archival professionals working outside of colonial academic settings. I hope to learn from current leadership and give back to this incredibly supportive community by offering my skills, knowledge, and passion for utilizing archives to solidify tribal sovereignty.

Good luck to all our candidates!!