Maya Cázares, the 2025 recipient of the CAA Archives and Archivists of Color (AAC) Travel Fund Award, shares her experience attending the Midwest Archives Conference Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, MN:

I’m so grateful that I was chosen to receive the Archivists of Color travel fund to attend MAC!  I am an emerging archivist, currently in graduate school, and this is the first professional conference I’ve ever attended.  I had such a fantastic time!  It was great to hear technical and theoretical concepts put into action, and I loved learning about social justice initiatives that various institutions are working on.  I also really enjoyed connecting with a range of archivists at diverse institutions that I would not have had the chance to interact with otherwise.  I appreciated how friendly everyone was (classic midwest hospitality!), and how willing people were to introduce me to other archivists that they thought I would benefit from knowing.  I was able to make some really wonderful connections both within Chicago and in the greater midwest region.  I hope to continue to nurture these relationships by visiting these archives and getting more involved with CAA!

In the politically turbulent times that we are living in today, it is inspiring to listen to archivists that are doing impactful work that tangibly improves their communities.  I especially enjoyed the panel “Collecting During Times of Institutional Conflict,” led by some of my old supervisors at Indiana University Archives!  I found it really inspiring to hear the steps that archivists are taking to protect and preserve important historical events.  I was also really moved by “Open Wide Our Archives: Introduction to CROSS and Archives Advocacy in the Catholic Church” and “Decolonizing Archives Outreach and Programming.”  I am very invested in the use of archives for social justice, and these panels really opened my eyes to the possibilities and projects that are being done.  They discussed the importance of collaboration, elevating the voices of marginalized groups, and the impact that access to history can have on descendant communities.  Sometimes we can get so caught up in our day to day tasks that we forget the bigger picture– why are we collecting and preserving this history in the first place?  These panels in particular really reminded me that we do this work to bring diverse histories to light and make it widely accessible. 

Attending MAC really solidified my belief that I am heading in the right direction with my career and my life.  I want to do work that is meaningful to my community, improves access to knowledge, preserves history, and upholds truth.  What became clear to me by the end of the conference is that archives are a form of resistance!  Access to information and history is crucial.  Like it said on the shirts that many attendees were wearing– America needs archivists!

Thank you again to the Archivists of Color interest group for choosing me for this opportunity!