Montana Archivist Selected for Prestigious Leadership Program

Montana Historical Society's Anneliese Jakle will join an elite cohort of archives professionals this year as a participant in the 2025 Archives Leadership Institute at the University of Virginia, a competitive program designed to advance leadership within the field of archival management.

Jakle, who has served as the Society's Archivist/Oral Historian since 2014, was chosen from a national pool of applicants based on her demonstrated leadership abilities, professional involvement, and innovative approach to archival work. Since 2022, she has also provided strategic guidance as the de facto Lead Archivist for the MTHS Library & Archives team.

The weeklong immersion program offers participants a distraction-free environment to develop essential leadership theories, skills, and knowledge through a combination of classroom and experiential learning. The Institute focuses on three key areas: individual leadership growth, organizational leadership, and responsible stewardship.

What distinguishes Jakle's participation is her proposed project centered on building meaningful partnerships with Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and Tribal Colleges throughout Montana. Her initiative aims to address critical issues in cultural heritage preservation by ensuring tribal records are returned to their rightful communities and establishing review protocols for materials created by tribal members before they enter the Historical Society's collections.

"I'm beyond honored to be selected," Jakle noted in the announcement. While her project remains in early development stages, she expressed excitement about working with Montana's tribes "to build a working relationship that ensures both tribal records and documents created by tribal members are handled properly."

The Archives Leadership Institute represents a significant investment in the future of archival practice. Funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (a statutory body affiliated with the National Archives), the University of Virginia Library received a $300,000 grant to host the program from 2024 through 2026.

Each year, only 25 archivists and memory workers are selected for this prestigious opportunity. Selection criteria emphasize exceptional leadership potential, ability to influence change within the archival field, professional engagement, collaborative spirit, and commitment to different perspectives within the profession.

For Montana's historical collections, Jakle's participation comes at a pivotal time. As cultural institutions nationwide reexamine their relationships with Indigenous communities, her project offers a pathway toward more equitable stewardship practices that respect tribal sovereignty over cultural materials.

The training Jakle receives through ALI@Virginia will benefit not just the Montana Historical Society but potentially reshape how archives across the state approach their relationships with tribal communities, creating models for responsible stewardship that honor both preservation needs and cultural protocols.

The Montana Historical Society, established in 1865, houses one of the state's most comprehensive collections of historical materials, serving as the memory keeper for Montana's communities and cultural heritage.