1. Outlook/framing: Remember that your stories need to reflect the care and sensitivity this project has tried to cultivate. This includes keeping in mind the perspectives of our tribal partners and their very careful approach to the material. It can be easy for academic-minded folks to somewhat glibly handle this material, but keep in mind the deeper and longer experience of settler colonialism and the historical trauma that these stories represent.
2. Additional background and research: Every story will likely require additional research to be able to adequately contextualize what was happening in the document. If no additional information can be gleaned, then maybe a different source/story will need to be chosen. To find additional historical and background information, try the following:
   • Run a general Google search that combines key terms, such as name(s), locations, and keywords from the document. This will likely bring up more local history sources and blogs, which can be useful.
   • Search academic sites such as JSTOR and Google Scholar.
   • Try searching Google Books, Hathitrust.org, and archive.org. Town histories (often older, 19th c. publications) can be useful as well.
3. Clarity/explanation: Keep the general but non-specialist reader in mind. You’ll want to be sure to explain things and clarify terms, people, names, etc. Try to keep your writing accessible.
4. Terminology: Use Indigenous tribal locations and names whenever possible, e.g., Guanahani instead of San Salvador, Diné instead of Navajo. Use Indigenous or Native instead of Indian.
5. Length: Ideally, these are shorter, easily digestible stories for the general public; aim for approximately 500–750 words.
6. Images: If possible or relevant, make sure that an image (with proper credits/sourcing) accompanies your posts. It might make sense to include an image of the primary source.
7. Citations: Please make sure that you are able to back up the information you give with specific sources to cite in footnotes following Chicago format.
8. Further reading: If possible, suggest a secondary source or two for additional reading on the wider context of this story.
9. Review and revision: All stories need to be reviewed by a senior member of the Stolen Relations team. This may involve some revisions and editing, which is a normal part of this process. You will still receive credit if it is posted on the website.

At the core of the Stolen Relations project is a database with entries for approximately 7,000 people. Note that the database contains enslaved/unfree Native Americans and enslavers (at the request of the Stolen Relations tribal partners, because they often trace their ancestors through the last names of enslavers). However, for this assignment, you should choose an enslaved (or unfree) person, not an enslaver.

Through these stories, Stolen Relations is attempting to give the wider public an easy way into the information contained in the database. Therefore, each story should focus on one unfree Indigenous person in the database and try to tell the story of that person as fully as possible. Your story will require outside reading and should be documented with footnotes. It can be challenging to find additional materials on individual enslaved people, but you should do general searches on the internet, including Google, JSTOR, etc. There are also other aspects of a source that can be researched to explain the situation or context, including the larger chronological context (What else is happening at that time? A war?), geographical context, the kind of enslavement, etc.

In instances where there is really no additional information to be found, it is okay to ponder the silences of the archives and the dehumanization of slavery, but keep it digestible for a wider public audience. There are also other ways to flesh out a story, perhaps by triangulating information (drawing from parallel experiences that others experienced elsewhere) or even bringing in theory or ideas from other fields/authors/texts.

Please note that it is crucially important to maintain a respectful tone with these stories. These are people’s ancestors and real people in the past.

Please peruse the existing stories to gain an understanding for what the general aim is. Be sure to also consult these guidelines regarding writing a story for this project.