Sharing voices: making the tachiqalax collection accessible through unangam and academic collaboration [the history of the unangam village tachiqalax on unalaska island, alaska, is the story of a…

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded the Museum of the Aleutians Association, doing business as Museum of the Aleutians Inc., a $345,484 Project Grant under the Promotion of the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access program (CFDA 45.149). The 3-year grant, running from June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2027, will fund the "Sharing Voices: Making the Tachiqalax Collection Accessible through Unangam and Academic Collaboration" project.

This project aims to 1) expand the number of perspectives telling the history of the Tachiqalax archaeological site on Unalaska Island, Alaska, and 2) increase access to the site's histories and archaeological materials so that researchers, educators, and the Unangax people can engage in learning, research, and cultural stewardship. The grant will support cataloging, curating, and making approximately 100 cubic feet of Tachiqalax archaeological materials accessible online, thereby broadening access to and decolonizing this period of U.S. colonial history, developing a multivocal history with researchers and Unangax communities, and building capacity in Alaska Native collections stewardship.

Sharing voices: making the tachiqalax collection accessible through unangam and academic collaboration [the history of the unangam village tachiqalax on unalaska island, alaska, is the story of a maritime, complex society?S catastrophic intersection with russian colonialism. Our proposed NEH project builds on the unalaska archaeology and history project (1986-1990), which excavated a significant portion of tachiqalax. The proposed project has two specific aims: 1) to expand the number of perspectives telling the history of tachiqalax; and 2) to expand access to the site?S histories and archaeological materials so that researchers, educators, and unangax^ may freely participate in learning, research, and cultural stewardship. The project will catalog, curate, and make accessible online approximately 100 cubic feet of archaeological materials. Through this process, the project broadens access to and decolonizes a dynamic period of U.S. Colonial ERA history, develops a multivocal history with researchers and unangax^, and builds capacity in alaska native collections stewardship.]