People
IndigenizeSNAC Project Team
Diana Marsh | Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, College of Information
Diana Marsh is an Assistant Professor of Archives and Digital Curation at the University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies (iSchool) and current member of the Society of American Archivists’ new Archival Repatriation Committee. She previously worked at the Smithsonian’s National Anthropological Archives and American Philosophical Society. Her current work focuses on improving discovery of Native and Indigenous collections held in colonial repositories.
Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner (Luiseño and Cupeño; first generation descendant of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians) | Co-PI, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner is an Indigenous feminist philosopher. Shelbi researches, teaches, and consults on Indigenous research and evaluation methods, cultural and language reclamation, Indigenous epistemologies, Indigenous feminist interventions in critical social work, and land-based feminist coalition-building. Shelbi is fascinated by the intersections of Indigenous knowledge systems, caretaking, power, and trauma. Shelbi is a proud first-generation descendant of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, and is of both Luiseño (Payómkawichum) and Cupeño (Kupangaxwichem) descent. She is an assistant professor in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at University of Maryland, College Park and the founding director of the Indigenous Futures Lab, a hub of Indigenous feminist research and evaluation.
Elizabeth Pineo | Graduate Assistant, PhD Student, University of Maryland, College of Information
Elizabeth Pineo (she/her) is a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Information at the University of Maryland, where her research explores the intersections of disability, music, and archives. In particular, she is interested in the accessibility of music archival materials and websites for Disabled users and representations of Disabled individuals within music collections. Elizabeth holds an M.L.I.S., also from the University of Maryland, and a B.A. in Music from Dickinson College. In addition to her academic pursuits, she is an Associate Editor for Including Disability. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, learning languages, and caring for an ever-growing plant collection. For more information about her, you can visit www.elizabethpineo.com.
Scotty Beland | Training and Outreach Coordinator, University of Maryland, College of Information, and Chair, SNAC Outreach Working Group
Scotty Beland holds an MLIS degree from the University of Maryland and accepted a full-time staff position in the Division of Research from the same just before graduation in December 2024. Research interests lie at the intersection of information behavior and digital divides across various cultures and disciplines, and is currently exploring the axis between information professionals and research administration. Work with this project allows Scotty to fulfill his interests in archival and museum work in a part-time capacity, following nearly 3 years working in outreach, instruction and exhibitions at UMD’s Special Collections and University Archives.
Ia Bull (ᎦᏚᏩᎩ/Gaduwagi) | Research Assistant, PhD Candidate, University of Maryland, College of Information (ᎠᏴ ᎪᎳᏄ ᏓᏆᏙᎠ. ᏌᎶᎵ ᎤᎾᏓᏢ ᏂᎦᏘᏲ ᎠᏆᎨᎵ ᎨᏟᏙᎯᏃ. ᏥᏄᏓᎴ ᏥᏎᎩᏳᏍᏗ ᏥᎦᏚᏩᎩᏃ ᏥᎾᏥᏃ.), and Former Chair, SNAC Indigenous Description Group
Ia Kholan Bull belongs to Squirrel Ridge Giduwa Ceremonial Grounds in the Cherokee Nation, and is pursuing their doctorate advised by co-directors of IndigenizeSTAR, Diana Marsh of the Center for Archival Futures (CAFe), and Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner of the Indigenous Futures Lab and Decolonizing Death Collective. Ia’s studies include archival use, knowledge organization, Indigenous research methodologies, and queer of color critique, with recent ethnographic research interrogating trauma and identity as mediated around online horror Tabletop Roleplaying Games on Discord. They are currently researching plurality in archival care.
Adriana Cutler | Project Manager, University of Maryland, Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Adriana Cutler is the full-time Project Manager for IndigenizeSNAC. She most recently served as a Senior Program Officer in the Division of Preservation and Access at the National Endowment for the Humanities, where her focus was on capacity building in preservation and collections management for small and mid-sized institutions, as well as outreach to underserved communities with a focus on the Latino community. Adriana has also worked at numerous cultural organizations, including The Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife, and the Museum of the Americas. She holds a Master’s in Arts Management from George Mason University and is excited to be back at the University of Maryland, where she earned her B.A. (Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Business) in the Individual Studies Program.
Abigail Hardy (Monacan Indian Nation) | Research Assistant, Graduate Student, University of Maryland, College of Information
Abigail is a current MLIS student with a focus on Archives and Digital Curation, as well as Indigenous and multicultural experiences. She also has a B.A. in Anthropology from UMD and received several awards during her time there for her artistic work and her leadership in the Indigenous and UMD communities. Her current work primarily focuses on enhancing accessibility between Indigenous communities and GLAMS institutions, as well as participating in collaborative projects across various departments. When she is not working, she enjoys watching (and coaching!) rugby, hanging out with her pets, and reading for fun.
Michael Poston | SNAC Developer, University of Maryland, College of Information
Michael Poston is a computer programmer with a background in the Digital Humanities. His recent work at the Folger Shakespeare Library involved building research databases and encoding transcriptions of Early Modern texts. This project marks a return to the University of Maryland, where he earned MA (English Language and Literature) and MLS degrees.
Rebecca Ridge (Indigenous Chicana) | Research Assistant, MA, Native American Studies, University of Oklahoma
Rebecca Ridge is an Indigenous Chicana from San Antonio, Texas who currently resides with her two children in Norman Oklahoma where she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Oklahoma. Rebecca holds a Master’s degree in Native American Studies from the University of Oklahoma, and is currently serving as the Project Manager for OU’s Indigenous Media Portal. Rebecca is excited to join the Indigenize SNAC team as a Graduate Research Assistant.
Stephanie Sapienza | Linked Data Coordinator, University of Maryland, College of Information, and Digital Humanities Archivist, University of Maryland, Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities
Stephanie Sapienza is the Digital Humanities Archivist at the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities at the University of Maryland, where she works at the intersection of archives, digital curation, and linked data. Her work focuses on developing workflows that reconnect dispersed records, improve discovery, and support more meaningful access across systems and repositories. For the IndigenizeSNAC initiative, she contributes expertise in linked data, metadata transformation, and archival workflows to help build community-responsive approaches to Indigenous archival search and description.
Jerry Simmons | SNAC Director, University of Virginia, Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, and Lead SNAC Trainer, University of Maryland, College of Information
Jerry Simmons is the Director of SNAC (University of Virginia, Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities) and Lead SNACSchool Trainer, University of Maryland, College of Information. Before joining the #IndigenizeSNAC project, Jerry worked at the National Archives and Records Administration as the Team Lead for Authorities Cataloging and then NARA’s Agency Liaison to the SNAC Cooperative. He has his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Georgia and his MLIS from the Catholic University of America’s School of Library and Information Science.
Ugoma Smoke | Metadata Specialist, University of Maryland, College of Information, and Chair, SNAC Editorial Standards Working Group
Ugoma Smoke (she/her/hers) is a Metadata Specialist at UMD in College Park, MD. She lives in Fayetteville, AR. Ugoma holds an MLIS degree from Kent State University with specializations in Archives and Special Collections, Museum Studies, and Digital Preservation, and a B.A. in Art History with an emphasis in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Akron. Her work focuses on metadata, Indigenous archives, and ethical description practices, and she has previous experience in genealogy and local history research in the Cherokee Nation community. She also received archival training from the Cherokee Heritage Center in Park Hill, OK. Previously, she served as a Research Assistant in Native and Indigenous Archives and Linked Data, collaborating and coordinating events with the Council of the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR) and the Linking Anthropology’s Data and Archives (LADA) project. In her spare time, Ugoma enjoys creating unique ice cream flavors with her son.
Past Members
Lydia Curliss (Nipmuc Massachusetts) | Former GA
Amanda Sorensen | Former GA
Rachel Bickel | Former Project Manager
Indigenous Advisory Board
Angie Bain (Lower Nicola Indian Band) | Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs
Tiffany N. Chavis, MSW, MLIS (Lumbee) | University of Maryland, Baltimore
Alan Corbiere (m’Chigeeng First Nation) | Assistant Professor, York University, Department of History
Taylor Gibson (Cayuga) | Six Nations Polytechnic
Eric Hemenway (Anishinave/Odawa) | Director of Repatriation, Archives and Records, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indian
Keahiahi Long (Hawaiian) | Librarian, University of Hawai’i, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies
Selena Ortega-Chiolero (Chickaloon) | Museum Specialist, Chickaloon Village Traditional Council
Veronica Pipestem (Otoe-Missouria) | Owner/Consultant, ItsimiVee LLC
Melissa Stoner (Diné/Navajo Nation) | Native American Studies Librarian, University of California, Berkeley
Kimberly Toney (Hassanamisco Band of Nipmuc) | Inaugural Coordinating Curator for Native American and Indigenous Collections, Brown University Library
Indigenous Description Group
Lindsey Chapman (Pawnee Nation, Cherokee Nation/UKB Descendant) | Museum of the Pawnee Nation
River Freemont (Turtle Mountain Chippewa and Omaha Descendant) | Digital Archives Specialist, National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
Evie Giaconia | Processing and Reference Coordinator, University of Maryland Libraries
Mik Hamilton | Simmons University
Worthy Martin | Acting Director, University of Virginia, Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities
Jerrid Miller (Cherokee Nation/Cherry Tree, Adair District) | Archivist, Cherokee Nation Language Department
Eden Orelove | Archivist/Historian, National Transportation Library, U.S. Department of Transportation
Jerica Scullawl-Gates (Cherokee Nation) | Child Welfare Specialist, Cherokee Nation
Liaisons
Fallon Carey (Cherokee Nation) | National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
Betts Coup | Harvard University Libraries
Alexander Duryee | Harvard University Libraries
B. Bernetiae Reed | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
