Puyallup Family Data Reclamation Project

The Puyallup Family Data Reclamation Project is a collaborative partnership between Dr. Rocha Beardall and the Puyallup Tribal Historic Preservation Department to recover, return, and digitize archival records related to the Tribe’s experiences with the federal Indian boarding school system.

By centering tribal authority and Indigenous data sovereignty, the project will create a tribally governed digital archive, facilitate community validation sessions, and lay the groundwork for future educational and public engagement initiatives defined by the Puyallup people. In the process, the project will provide intensive research training to three undergraduate and two graduate students in Indigenous human rights methods, archival ethics, and participatory research.

BACKGROUND:

From the 19th through the mid-20th century, the Indian boarding school system was a primary instrument of U.S. assimilationist policy. These schools forcibly removed Native children from their families, languages, and cultures in an attempt to erase Indigenous identities and sever ties to community and land. Washington state was home to 17 such institutions, each of which had a direct and lasting impact on the state’s Native Peoples. The harmful legacies of this system for tribal nations remain visible today in the form of intergenerational trauma, disrupted kinship networks, and other systemic educational, economic, and health inequities.

Six people stand, smiling, in front of a large mural of a salmon moving up a river going towards a tall mountain with a sun hanging over. Text in the mural says "Puyallup Tribe of Indians."

Puyallup Family Data Reclamation Project. Photo credit/ Dr. Rocha Beardall.

The Puyallup Family Data Reclamation Project directly addresses these gaps. In close partnership with the Tribal Historic Preservation Department (THPD), the project will recover, digitize, and repatriate archival materials under Puyallup governance. This work will support community-led validation of records, ensuring accuracy, cultural integrity, and alignment with tribal priorities. In doing so, the project affirms Indigenous data sovereignty, facilitates truth-telling and historical justice, and provides tools for intergenerational learning, cultural revitalization, and community-defined healing initiatives.

METHODOLOGY

Archival Research and Digitization – In partnership with the Puyallup Tribal Historic Preservation Department, the research team will identify, prioritize, and collect relevant archival materials from regional, state, and federal repositories. Special attention will be given to records housed in state archives, the National Archives, and church-led boarding school collections. Students will receive training in archival handling, digital preservation, metadata creation, and Indigenous research ethics while assisting with THPD’s research. Digital materials will then be transformed from unstructured images into tabular data for querying and analyses. THPD will hold and govern all research data.

Educational and Public Engagement Materials – Based on the outcomes of validation sessions and community priorities, the project will contribute to tribally-defined and tribally-approved educational and public engagement materials. Students will assist in content development, design, and implementation under THPD’s direction and needs.