Emily Uruchima

Emily Uruchima is a Kichwa Kañari archivist, researcher, and storyteller born and raised on Lenapehoking territory (New York City). Emily received her M.A. in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (2020) and a B.A. in Social and Cultural Analysis with focus on Native American and Indigenous Studies (2021), both from New York University. Throughout her time at NYU, Emily worked as a Special Collections Assistant, archiving and digitizing the Native and Indigenous Media Collection, while bridging connections and facilitating collaborations between Indigenous elders and storytellers across Turtle Island. 

Since 2015, Emily Uruchima has been organizing with Kichwa youth across Turtle Island working in language revitalization, climate change efforts, and moving image archiving and preservation work.  Much of Emily’s research and work revolves around uplifting Indigenous communities, historically silenced in large public institutions. Currently, at the New York Public Library, she works directly with digital archives and holdings to develop curricula for NYC public school educators. Through an indigenous historical lens, Emily has been developing curricula with topics/themes ranging from the realities and traumas of Native American Residential Boarding Schools to findings and interpretations of 19th Century treaties with Indigenous nations across Turtle Island/Abya Yala.