Rivers have been described as the veins of the Earth. Their paths continually change course, challenging the intentions and expectations of engineers, politicians, industry, and those who live in their watershed. River levels change based on seasons, engineering, and upstream and downstream water use. Rivers do not neatly correspond to the political jurisdictions and institutions where archives are typically found, presenting a challenge for charting out the history of a river’s watershed. How do we document these living ecosystems, their movements, and their stories?

Focusing on the history, culture, and politics of the Ohio River, Cincinnati-based archivist Eira Tansey will explore the idea of watershed documentation. From the American Civil War to the 1937 flood to the current expansion of the fracking industry, the Ohio River is at the same time one of America’s most important and most overlooked, most symbolic and most polluted rivers. How should we think about documenting a river or understanding its inherently scattered archives? What can we learn from a river’s records? And what do we lose by ignoring the recordkeeping needs of watersheds?

This talk is part of the Bernadette Callery Archives Lecture Series.

Biography

Eira Tansey is an archivist, researcher, and consultant based in her hometown of Cincinnati/the Ohio River watershed. She is the founder of Memory Rising, which provides research, consulting, and archival services with expertise in climate change, environmental and labor movements, and Ohio Valley regional history. She previously worked as an archivist at the University of Cincinnati and Tulane University. Eira’s research on archives and climate change has been profiled by Yale Climate Connections, VICE, and Pacific Standard, and has been honored by the Society of American Archivists. Her most recent publication is A Green New Deal for Archives.

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