Recovering Voices Internship

Description: This is a part time internship for the spring of 2017. This opportunity provides a range of collections-related and administrative experience in a collaborative museum-community program setting. The intern will work primarily with the Recovering Voices Program Assistant for Collections in the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History.

The intern will be responsible for creating digital packets of collections-based research material for two community research groups coming from Alaska and Louisiana, who are participating in the Recovering Voices Community Research Program in 2017. The work location will be primarily in the Recovering Voices Office at the National Museum of Natural History, but will also include time (or assignments) in the collections and archives at the Museum Support Center and Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, MD. The weeks of the community visits may involve more than part time hours, this is flexible.

The Recovering Voices Community Research Program makes the collections and archives of the Smithsonian accessible to indigenous communities who are working on language and/or knowledge revitalization projects. Most community visits are video recorded to document the research for the community’s purposes. The packets the intern will be responsible for creating center around processing of the video and associated research materials after each visit. The intern will also be responsible for assisting during the research visits. The intern will gain first-hand experience of research in collections as well as learn about the tribes and communities that are participating in the Community Research Program.

Pre-Requisites: Applicants should be a recent graduate or be currently enrolled in a graduate program. They should be interested in the use of museum collections and archives for research and be detail oriented. Cultural sensitivity and the ability to work with people from all backgrounds is a must. Background cultural knowledge of Tlingit or Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw is a plus, but not required. Audiovisual production experience is not required.

Learning Objectives: There are three core learning objectives.

1. Learn about the subject of language and traditional knowledge documentation and revitalization.
2. Learn about the uses and benefits of material culture and archival resources available at the Smithsonian, and museums in general, to understand the impact of resources in museum collections on revitalization efforts.
3. Learn about audiovisual documentation, standards for archiving born-digital products, and post-production of digital video.

Timetable: Proposed Dates: February 27 to May 26; Part-time (20-25 hours per week)

To Apply: Interested applicants can email their resume and a cover letter stating their interest and qualifications to Recoveringvoices@si.edu attention Laura Sharp.