The CAA Steering Committee is sharing this statement on behalf of a NARA stakeholder and CAA member:and shares their sentiments.
This week, leadership at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) announced to staff their intention to close the National Archives at Chicago and the Chicago Federal Records Center, along with offices in San Bruno, CA and Seattle, WA. Their stated reasoning is financial, claiming the move will reduce NARA’s operating expenses and real estate portfolio. There is no archival rationale provided, no mention of how access to the records will be affected. There is no apparent consideration to the cost this move will have to the public or to NARA staff.
The regional branches of the National Archives were opened in the 1970s with the promise of keeping regionally valuable permanent records available to local researchers. The National Archives at Chicago has done just that, housing more than 140,000 cubic feet of historically significant records of the federal government from six Great Lakes states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The records span government agencies including the Federal Courts, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Coast Guard, and so many more.
For over 50 years, a dedicated staff of archival professionals in Chicago have preserved these records and provided Chicagoans and Midwesterners access to their history when they need it most. The archives is frequented by people who need records that directly impact their lives, including people seeking their own naturalization records to prove citizenship status, those who need records of court cases in which they were involved, descendants of indigenous people who attended government boarding schools, and veterans looking for information about vessels they served on in the Great Lakes, to name a few.
The archives brings researchers, historians, scholars, lawyers, and visitors of all kinds from all over the world to our city. The holdings at the National Archives at Chicago complement those at repositories where CAA members work, volunteer, or visit. For example, there are dozens of federal court cases related to the Pullman Strike of 1894 that connect to The Illinois Labor History Archives, the Pullman National Historical Site, and other labor-focused collections. There are maritime records that tie directly to the Chicago Maritime Museum. These document the movement of ships, goods, and people across the Great Lakes – including catastrophic shipwrecks and even the 1919 murder of Eugene Williams in Lake Michigan that led to the Chicago Race Riot. The Bureau of Indian Affairs records showcase the relationship between Indigenous communities and the federal government, supplementing records in the Newberry Library, the American Indian Center, and other archives. These are a few small examples of how NARA’s records connect with those at local facilities. Future researchers will need to travel away from Chicago to view any National Archives sources, or forgo them altogether.
Beyond the records themselves, this closure means the loss of the people who care for them. The archivists and specialists at this facility have spent careers developing deep institutional knowledge — understanding provenance, knowing where things are, knowing what has never been catalogued. The staff in the Chicago office have cultivated a vast understanding of regional history and how the records intersect with that history. CAA members will be well aware that this expertise cannot be packed into a box and shipped away. When these professionals are displaced, that knowledge is lost.
NARA’s mission, as stated on its website, is to “preserve, protect, and share the historical records of the United States to promote public inquiry and strengthen democratic participation.” NARA made no effort to explain how this move forwards that mission. It is alarming that NARA would be so cavalier about its history and the history it protects, especially now as we approach the United States’ 250th anniversary. The disinvestment of cultural institutions like the National Archives – and others facing similar plights – cannot be ignored.
If you value the National Archives at Chicago and want local history to remain available please contact your representatives to let them know: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member.
