Stephen R. Curley, enrolled citizen of the Diné/Navajo Nation began his tenure as the Director of Digital Archives at the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition in the Fall of 2019. Stephen is a professional archivist who is committed to being of service to Tribal community archives and museums. Stephen finds it imperative for Tribal Nations to bolster these curatorial institutions and programs in order to foster cultural continuity as well as cultivating national identities through the adaptation and development of these nontraditional information infrastructures. Through his work, he continues to reaffirm that Tribal archives stand as monuments to the traditional knowledge systems and age-old institutions which have sustained the cultural memories of Tribal peoples.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology with a minor in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona and a Master of Arts in Library and Information Science from the University of Arizona with a focus on archival practices and methodologies. He has worked with Tribal governments, groups, and communities regarding the development of cultural heritage institution services, programming, and information management capacities. Stephen has also served as the Chair of the Society of American Archivists’ Native American Archives Section (SAA-NAAS) from 2018 to 2019 whereby he worked towards facilitating meaningful relationships between Tribal and non-Tribal institutions whom have a vested interest in the ethical stewardship and curation of Native American archival collections. He continues this work and serves the entire SAA body as part of Council for his 2020-2023 term.