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OREGON HERITAGE BULLETIN #34 | APRIL 2018 | PAGE 1RESEARCHING HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES
Oregon Heritage Bulletin
TIPS, IDEAS, & PRESERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OREGON HERITAGE
34
APRIL 2018
Researching Historically
Marginalized Communities
Museums today are seeking to
expand their audiences and bet-
ter serve their increasingly diverse
communities. Efforts to highlight the
comprehensive histories of any given
community can seem challenging,
as it is sometimes difcult to nd
information about underrepresented
populations that were typically left
undocumented in traditional histor-
ical resources. This technical leaet
includes research tips and guidelines
on how to expand your research to be
more inclusive in an effort to beer
reect the diversity of experiences in
your community.
What types of communities
have been historically
marginalized?
Historically marginalized commu-
nities are groups who have been
relegated to the lower or peripheral
edge of society. Many groups were
(and some continue to be) denied full
participation in mainstream cultur-
al, social, political, and economic
activities. Marginalized communities
can include people of color, women,
LGBTQ+, low-income individuals,
prisoners, the disabled, senior citi-
zens, and many more. Many of these
communities were ignored or mis-
represented in traditional historical
sources.
Why research marginalized
communities?
Including the stories of historically
marginalized communities enhances
how museums interpret and present
history. Adding the voices of un-
derrepresented communities to the
prevailing cultural narrative tells
a broader and more engaging sto-
ry. This allows for a more complex
and accurate depiction of historical
events: including representation in,
and contributions made to, the sele-
ment and development of any given
region and a more nuanced account
of conicts surrounding the ongoing
struggle for minority communities
to gain equal rights, recognition, and
acknowledgement.
As history is primarily told through
the lens of the dominant population
and its surviving material culture,
many underrepresented communi-
ties are invisible within museums.
Promoting research on these groups
brings their voices into the story
and ips the perspective, allowing
for a more representative portrayal
of the past. Instead of discussing
historically marginalized communi-
ties as passive recipients of change,
the story can now be told through
their viewpoint, illuminating them as
active agents in charge of their own
lives and decisions.
The fact that some communities were
documented beer than others is one
of the key challenges in incorporating
a diversity of experiences into local
or regional histories. This oversight
might have been purposeful, polit-
ical, or accidental; nevertheless it is
important to make a concerted effort
to reincorporate those stories into
the historical record.
Holistic localized history offers a
new perspective that is often more
complicated, thought provoking,
and challenging than the dominant
culture version. Instead of one voice,
many voices are represented. When
interpreted well, these stories can
then encourage visitors to engage
with, and think more critically about,
the subject maer.
Incorporating new voices into the
museum greatly increases the
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OREGON HERITAGE BULLETIN #34 | APRIL 2018 | PAGE 2RESEARCHING HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES
museum’s relevance to its commu-
nity. More community members will
recognize themselves and their sto-
ries in the museum, and when they
do, they will come to understand the
museum as a place where they are
welcome and their story is told.
As community members increasingly
view the museum as relevant and
inclusive, the audience will expand.
Museum can beer reach new
demographics and bring in visitors
through the highlighting the range
of historical experiences. As our
country’s population increasingly
diversies, it will become even more
important for museums to aract
new stakeholders.
Research Tips for Finding
Marginalized Communities
CONSIDER THE BIG PICTURE:
• Look at the larger historical con-
text in order to best understand
where to nd an accurate repre-
sentation of the diversity of popu-
lations in your area. What were the
social and political movements of
the era you are researching? Who
was or wasn’t immigrating at that
time? Who was struggling with
the dominant culture?
• For example, lack of property
data, tax or marriage records
might not reect an absence of
specic populations, but rather
was often due to laws restricting
certain activities and civil liber-
ties during those time periods.
• Laws are the system of rules that
a particular community recogniz-
es as regulating the actions of its
members and may be enforced
by the imposition of penalties.
When a law is routinely amended
or changed, you should question
what societal factors might be
promoting that change. Consider:
Who is advocating for the law and
why? What is the law designed to
control, who is working around the
law, and how are they doing so?
• It can be helpful to investigate the
general income level of the com-
munity you are researching. Where
else in society can you nd people
of that income level?
• What activities, clubs, or religions
may your target community have
joined or participated in? How else
might they have contributed in
society?
THINK CRITICALLY:
• Absence of evidence is not ev-
idence of absence. Carefully
analyze why information may
be missing and who potentially
beneed from that absence. The
answer may surprise you!
• For example, early census
records do not provide an
accurate representation of
women, children, or minority
populations. In some cases this
is due to the goal or biases of
the census taker. In other cases,
this was due to precautionary
and protective measures taken
by the residents who chose not
to be documented.
Case Study: Sometimes even our
most cherished narratives need a
good critical reexamination. The
gold rush community of Kanaka
Flat in Southern Oregon had the
notorious reputation of being
Jackson County’s ‘epicenter of
sin.’ This multi-ethnic mining
camp was described (as were the
majority of mining camps from
this era) as bachelor societies ripe
with vice and violence. However,
when looked at more critically, it
became clear that the historical
descriptions of the male dominat-
ed communities were assertions
not based on sex, but rather class
Resource Highlight
Visitors of Color (ht t p://
visitorsofcolor.tumblr.com/)
is a blog documenting the
experiences of marginalized
people with museums
“I am constantly reminding
myself that when I enter into any
space, I have to ask questions
about who controls the
narrative. Not only who writes
the story, but who chooses the
information that is presented to
me. Why did they choose that
information? Do they believe
they are providing me the full
story or not?”
- Anupama Selvam, Civil and
Human Rights Activist, 2016
“From history museums I want
to see exhibits that tell the truth!
There are so many lies that
have been told for generations
and most of us believe it. I want
museums to be more inclusive of
all events that helped shape our
history.”
- Anthony, 2016
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and ethnicity. In short, while only
a small population of European
American women was present
in the gold elds of Southern
Oregon, there were many Native
American and Native Hawaiian
women present. Furthermore,
these women were not all engaged
in prostitution, but were often
married with children. These
‘invisible wives’ and their families
were underrepresented due to
restrictive legislation prohibiting
interracial marriage in Oregon
during this era, which left lile
to no documentary evidence of
these relationships. The reexam-
ination of the demographics of
Kanaka Flat not only showed that
there were many families living
and working in the small commu-
nity, but documentation further
indicated that the nearby city of
Jacksonville was outsourcing its
vice (in the way of saloons) and
its disease (in the way of a small
pox pest house) to the histori-
cally marginalized community of
Kanaka Flat. Locating the saloon
in nearby Kanaka Flat allowed the
more socially self-conscious city of
Jacksonville (which was the county
seat) to distance itself from the
less desirable aspects of life on the
mining frontier. For more than a
century historians have continued
to inadvertently reinforce the Wild
West ‘myths’ of mining camps like
Kanaka Flat, and as a result under,
or mis-, represent the contribu-
tions of many early Oregonians
(Rose 2014).
• In addition, the absence of ob-
jects is not necessarily evidence
of absence. Many museums lack
collections that represent all
aspects of historical communities.
Many factors can contribute to
what ends up in curation. Some
are political, such as how objects
were valued by the dominant
culture. Some sampling disparities
are due to preservation, as some
items are more fragile, disposable,
or are just not intended to last.
And sometimes diversity within
a collection is due to populations
leaving an area and taking their
goods with them.
• Conversely, some museums have
chosen to selectively highlight
only “exotic” items of certain cul-
tures, which also skews the sample
and can add to the narrative that
certain populations were disin-
terested in participating in main-
stream culture, and can also serve
to portray certain populations as
‘perpetual foreigners.’
• When working with wrien doc-
uments, be sure to try to identify
the writer’s potential bias in order
to best use it as a source. What
was the document’s purpose? Who
created it? What was the author’s
background? Who was the intend-
ed audience? Who had access to
the document? Who did not,
and why?
• When analyzing objects, consid-
er more than its provenance and
function. What was the object’s
original purpose? Who made it?
How was it transferred from the
maker to the owner to the mu-
seum? Who beneed from its
production? What material is it?
Who had access to that material?
Would the tools used to create it
be available to everyone? Was it
meant for everyday use or to be
saved? Who did not have access to
this type of object and why?
TH I N K V ISUA L LY:
• Information presented on maps, as
well as surveyor’s data, can pro-
vide important clues about where
people lived on the landscape,
how it was used, and what natural
resources may have been available
or altered.
• For example, Government Land
Ofce (GLO) maps provide
great information about the
landscape as it changed over
time. As many of these maps
can date to the European
American selement period,
they provide important infor-
mation and insight into how
Native American populations
may have historically used and
modied the land.
• You can nd free and open
access to historical GLO maps
here: hp://www.glorecords.
blm.gov/default.aspx
• Sanborn Fire Insurance maps are
another important resource when
investigating historical urban
environments. Sanborn maps of-
ten provide detailed information
about construction materials and
building size, and can also note
population demographics. For ex-
ample, many West Coast commu-
nities had Chinese neighborhoods
and businesses noted.
• Historical photographs can pro-
vide a great deal of information
about people, their lives, relation-
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ships, homes, clothing, and mate-
rial culture. Remember to consider
the photographer’s bias carefully,
and note that early photographs
were not the candid snapshots
they are today. Many photographs
were intentionally displayed
tableaus of idealized scenes or
romanticized portraits, or taken in
response to a specic need.
Example: A larger number of
portraits of Chinese immigrants
can be found dating to the end
of the nineteenth century to the
early twentieth century. This is
due in part to the Geary Act of
1892, which was an expansion on
the Chinese Exclusion act of 1882
and required all Chinese residents
of the United States to carry a res-
ident permit at all times. Photo-
graphs were also needed for those
interested in visiting or returning
to China during this era.
While portraits taken for personal
identication can be found in a va-
riety of local repositories, the Na-
tional Archives hold the Chinese
Exclusion Act Case Files, which
contain a variety of important in-
formation including photographs,
personal interviews, and place of
residence of the Chinese individ-
uals living in the United States
during the Exclusion Era. To learn
more about the Chinese Exclusion
Act Case Files and the resources
they contain, check out this blog
highlighting the volunteer efforts
at the National Archives-Seale to
index the collection: hps://chine-
seexclusionles.com/about/
• Historical photographs of towns
and cities can show how soci-
eties functioned. They include
important information such as
transportation methods, types
of businesses, appearance and
upkeep, and how people mingled.
Much of this information will be
in the background or periphery
of photographs. Close inspection
of digitally scanned photographs
can provide a wealth of ne detail
about the past.
• Historical photographs of towns
and cities can also provide clues
through architecture. Are the
buildings meant to last a long
time, or are they temporary struc-
tures? How does this reect the
choices, opportunities, or circum-
stances of people who may have
lived or worked in them?
ENGAGE:
• Talk to community members. Ask
them about their experiences and
memories. Look for family stories
and local knowledge. Ask them if
they have any relevant documents
or material culture they would be
willing to share.
• For example, hold a community
forum. Choose a space that
is familiar to and frequently
used by that community so they
are as comfortable as possible.
Bring food and drinks to show
your appreciation of their time
and energy. Facilitate the dia-
logue by asking questions and
taking notes, and let the com-
munity guide the conversation.
• Oral histories can help add de-
tail to the historical record and
illuminate emotional reactions.
They can describe an individual’s
memory of a specic event, and
they can provide a contemporary
opinion about an individual from
the marginalized community.
Oral histories themselves have
been historically marginalized
and often discounted, but modern
scholars now recognize their im-
portance as a critical data source.
• Spread the word. Public outreach
events, newspaper articles, tradi-
tional media, and social media can
help alert people about your re-
search. Someone might hear about
your project and contact you with
helpful information or leads. Some
of these will be dead ends, but you
never know when you might hit
the jackpot.
• Appreciate community members’
participation. Be respectful and
considerate of their time and
contributions.
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LISTEN:
• Allow space for the community to
tell their story. When working with
a community, your role as a cura-
tor/interpreter shifts to become
more of a facilitator. Give space for
that community to tell their story
in their voices. You have the tools
to do so (exhibit space, program-
ming), but the story is their own.
• Do not reinvent the wheel. Find
out if there are already established
groups or efforts to look into
historical populations that you can
collaborate with.
• For example, look for cultural
organizations, public event
organizers, archaeological sites
or labs, or Facebook groups.
While sometimes more casual
than traditional historic sourc-
es, these groups may lead you
down unexpected avenues.
• Collaborate with stakeholders
when possible. This might take a
lile more time, but the result will
be more meaningful. There are
local groups, family historians, and
amateur historians who often are
active in researching underrep-
resented populations. If you can
nd these people, you will not only
potentially have access to their re-
search, but you can help them share
their story with a wider audience.
INTERPRET:
• Emphasize the story and values of
the community you are trying to
represent.
• For example, when discussing
discrimination against the
community, use personal
stories that illustrate the dis-
crimination instead of quota-
tions from the dominant cul-
ture about the discrimination.
• Use an active voice whenever pos-
sible when describing the commu-
nity. This technique shifts the tone
and focus of the narrative to the
community and how they chose to
engage with their surroundings,
instead of how they responded to
the dominant culture.
• Create space within the exhibition
or program for current members
of the target community to share
their experiences, memories,
and reaction to the content. This
method will encourage the partic-
ipation of community members
and will allow other visitors to
read rsthand accounts from com-
munity members.
• Emphasize the effects of biased
language.
• For example, when using news-
paper articles show how biased
language can greatly change
the meaning and tone.
• Create opportunities for non-com-
munity members to relate to target
community members. Are there
universal experiences for both,
such as a particular type of job,
hardship, struggle, or opportunity?
Conclusion
In summary, dig deep, think critically,
and be creative. While the above tips
are based on our experiences, avail-
able resources (and obstacles) will
vary depending on where you are and
what historical event or population
you are trying to highlight. Wherever
you may be, incorporating diversity,
complexity, and nuance into local
history is an important part of re-
maining relevant to the communities
that your institution serves.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Kuri
Gill of Oregon Heritage for creating
the panel on ‘How to Dig for Informa-
tion’ that this article has been creat-
ed from. In addition, we would like
to thank our fellow panelists Gwen
Carr and Briece Edwards who helped
brainstorm and compile the informa-
tion presented above.
Amy Drake is an Independent Muse-
um Consultant, specializing in exhi-
bitions and community engagement.
Chelsea Rose is an historical archae-
ologist at the Southern Oregon Uni-
versity Laboratory of Anthropology,
specializing in the selement and
development of the American West.
Resources
• hp://visitorsofcolor.tumblr.com/
• hps://queeringthemuseum.org/
• hp://www.glorecords.blm.gov/
default.aspx
• hps://www.archives.gov/research
• Museums and Communities:
Curators, Collections and
Collaboration, edited by Viv
Golding, Wayne Modest
• Rose, Chelsea, 2013,
Lonely
Men, Loose Women: Rethinking
the Demographics of a Multieth-
nic Mining Camp
, Kanaka Flat,
Oregon. Historical Archaeology
47(3):23–35.
