AFS Fellow Guha Shankar Received 2024 Honored One Award from ATALM

Folklorist, cultural anthropologist, and AFS Fellow Guha Shankar received the Honored One Award at the 2024 Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) annual conference for his dedication to helping indigenous communities and individuals document, preserve and sustain their cultural traditions.

The Honored One Award recognizes individuals whose contributions have significantly benefited the preservation of indigenous cultural heritage and supported the work of tribal archives, libraries, and museums. Serving as a trainer for a 2009 World Intellectual Property Organization program, Guha assisted a group of Maasai people from Kenya, helping them both document and then archive cultural expressions. Guha coordinated symposia and programs at the Library of Congress, such as the 2015 ATALM pre-conference,” Civil Rights, Identity & Sovereignty: Native American Perspectives on History, Law & the Path Ahead,” and served as a panelist for the PBS program, “Native America –Language is Life.” He impacts educational programs, including contribution to Sustainable Heritage Network tutorials, and leadership of oral history workshops at many ATALM conferences, as well as participated in pre-conference sessions on locating resources in federal agencies. Guha presents information sessions for tribal visitors to the Library of Congress and helps communities locate and access cultural heritage materials, such as the Library’s ongoing Ancestral Voices project with the Passamaquoddy Tribe in Maine in partnership with Local Contexts colleagues. Donald Soctomah, the Passamaquoddy Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, describes Guha’s work as heartfelt, comforting and welcoming. Cordelia Hooee, the Zuni Lieutenant Governor, describes Guha as “a great advocate for many years.” Guha’s work on inclusive description and respectful terminologies within the Library strives to ensure that Indigenous voices are heard.

The Honored One Award is a part of ATALM’s Guardians of Culture and Lifeways International Awards Program, which identifies and recognizes organizations and individuals that serve as outstanding examples of how Indigenous archives, libraries, museums, and individuals contribute to the vitality and cultural sovereignty of Native Nations.