OSU Libraries assistant professor secures grant expanding Indigenous resources, history

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Media Contact: Jade Dudley | Marketing & Communications Coordinator, OSU Library | 405-744-7331 | jade.dudley@okstate.edu

Sara Mautino, assistant professor and art and architecture librarian at Oklahoma State University, has secured $15,000 in grants to support the expansion of a free, public digital bibliography of sources related to Indigenous architecture in Oklahoma.

Documentation on Indigenous architecture can be daunting as materials are often scattered across journal articles, theses, newspapers, archival collections and community publications. Mautino’s solution for this is simple: bring those materials together into one accessible place at OSU.

Based in OSU Libraries, the project is supported by head of digital resources and discovery services Megan Macken, architecture assistant professor Bailey Brown-Mitchel, student research assistant Michelle Nevaquaya and the OSU Center for Sovereign Nations.

The grant combines a $10,000 Humanities, Arts and Design-Based Disciplines Research grant through OSU and a $5,000 Carnegie-Whitney Grant from the American Library Association, where Mautino was one of six recipients. This funding supports the expansion of the bibliography, including a paid student research assistant, improvements to the project website, research-related travel and materials and community listening sessions. This is to ensure the project is culturally relevant, respectful and practical. Mautino emphasizes this will help make information about Indigenous architecture, place and design more accessible to all.

"Oklahoma is home to 39 federally recognized tribal nations,” Mautino said. “The OSU School of Architecture has the third-highest enrollment in the U.S. of Indigenous students in architecture programs. Building this resource is literally reflected in our student population.”

The bibliography is built in Omeka S, a next-generation, open-source web publishing platform for institutions. It allows users to browse by topic, place, people and tribal nations while also emphasizing respectful descriptions, accessibility and accurate terminology. Mautino will lead efforts to add new annotated bibliography entries, develop consistent metadata and terminology practices and hold community listening sessions.

Eventually, the project aims to create an accessible resource while also developing a model that could be useful for other librarians working on place-based or community-centered bibliographic projects. For OSU, the project strengthens the university’s goal in supporting research on Oklahoma’s infrastructure, Indigenous histories and more.

The developing catalog is available on the Indigenous Architecture of Oklahoma webpage. For more information about the project, reach out to Mautino at sara.mautino@okstate.edu.