The University of Nebraska at Kearney Archives has historically failed to capture diversity; there are several strong Latino/a communities in the region, but no archival collections documenting them. Coming to the Plains: Latino/a Stories in Rural Nebraska is a collaboration between the Archives and faculty from Modern Languages and Communications. This collaboration creates new records in the form of oral histories with transcripts and translations and art photography. The project trains students to conduct oral histories with Latino/a immigrants living in several rural Nebraska communities. The use of broad, open-ended questions allows participants to shape the narrative in order to highlight what is most important to them. Active documentation strategies such as oral history increase the possibilities for collecting diversity in a way that demonstrates respect for participants and gives communities input into the sharing of their story.
