However, these irreplaceable physical collections are not all that has apparently been lost in the fire. Gumercinda Gonda, a Professor at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), alerts in a Facebook post that the National Museum’s indigenous languages collection has also been destroyed. UFRJ has a close association with the National Museum.

Folks, there’s nothing left from the Linguistics division. We lost all the indigenous languages collection: the recordings since 1958, the chants in all the languages for which there are no native speakers alive anymore, the Curt Niemuendaju archives: papers, photos, negatives, the original ethnic-historic-linguistic map localizing all the ethnic groups in Brazil, the only record that we had from 1945. The ethnological and archeological references of all ethnic groups in Brazil since the 16th century… An irreparable loss of our historic memory. It just hurts so much to see all in ashes.

Indigenous language preservation and knowledge management

The loss of the National Museum of Brazil’s indigenous languages collection is an important knowledge management (KM) issue, for three reasons:

1. Indigenous languages are critically linked to indigenous knowledge

The RealKM Magazine article series “The case for indigenous knowledge systems and knowledge sovereignty” highlights the importance of indigenous knowledge, and a report to the Canadian Government1 highlights the importance of indigenous languages to indigenous knowledge:

Language is by far the most significant factor in the survival of Indigenous knowledge. Indigenous languages and their symbolic, verbal, and unconscious orders structure Indigenous knowledge; therefore, educators cannot stand outside of Indigenous languages to understand Indigenous knowledge.

Numerous guides and guidelines have been published describing measures to protect museum collections from the risk of fire, for example the guides from the Arts Council England and United States National Parks Service. All museums should be implementing such measures, but their ongoing effectiveness will always be at risk of being undermined by changes in government priorities. Indeed, in the wake of the National Museum of Brazil fire, there have been angry accusations of spending cuts and inadequate maintenance, including of the National Museum’s sprinkler system.

Writing in WIRED, Emily Dreyfuss advises what must also be done in addition to fire protection: museums need to digitally backup indigenous knowledge, and doing this must be a high priority. In regard to the loss of the National Museum of Brazil indigenous languages collection, she states that:

It didn’t have to be this way. All of these artifacts could have been systematically backed up over the years with photographs, scans, audio files. The failure to do so speaks to a vital truth about the limits of technology: Just because the means to do something exists technologically doesn’t mean it will be done. And it underscores that the academic community has not yet fully embraced the importance of archiving—not just in Brazil, but around the world.

3. Effective digital preservation programs are part of taking KM to the next level

As Dreyfuss discusses, language researchers have tended to focus on collecting linguistics information, rather than on protecting what they collect. Organisations funding language research have also only recently started to require data management as part of their funding agreements, and the digital preservation of languages is very expensive.

Knowledge managers can encourage museums and other similar organisations they are working with to place a higher priority on digital preservation, and then facilitate or assist the development and implementation of the resulting programs.

Through their blog and social media posts and KM conferences and forums, knowledge managers can also actively promote the importance of digital preservation and the need for governments and other funding bodies to adequately support it.

About the Author

Bruce Boyes is Editor and Lead Writer of RealKM Magazine, and has also been a teacher at Shanxi University in northern China where he established new knowledge management classes. He is an experienced knowledge manager, environmental manager, and educator with expertise in information and knowledge management, program and project management, environmental management and sustainability, community and stakeholder engagement and development, research, writing and editing, education and training, website management, and event and meeting management. Bruce holds a Master of Environmental Management with Distinction and a Certificate of Technology (Electronics).

With a demonstrated ability to collaboratively identify and implement innovative solutions to complex problems, Bruce’s career highlights include using agile approaches to implement an award-winning $77.4 million river recovery program in western Sydney on time and under budget, leading the development and implementation of a knowledge strategy process for the natural resource management organisations across Australia, and pioneering collaborative learning and governance approaches to help communities to sustainably manage landscapes and catchments.