The Peoples of Utah Revisited initiative is the Utah Historical Society’s flagship semiquincentennial project to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This initiative returns to the groundbreaking work of noted Greek American ethnographer Helen Zeese Papanikolas on Utah’s ethnic communities in the 1970s. Papanikolas spearheaded the original Peoples of Utah initiative as part of Utah’s bicentennial commemoration. The volume was published in 1976, and the project created a priceless collection of historic photographs and documents, credited as the first ethnographic work of Utahns ever produced. Fifty years later, the Utah Historical Society embarked on a project that sought to build upon the original work, looking at the development of communities in the state and ensuring that all Utahns see themselves reflected in the historical record.

Why

Utah’s demographics have changed significantly since 1976 and are projected to continue to change as migration nationally and internationally changes the make up of the state.  With more than 106 languages spoken in Salt Lake Valley schools alone, along with the migration of Southeast Asian communities since the 1970s, and the sharp rise of Latinos moving into Utah since the 1990s, the cultural fabric of Utah has shifted dramatically in recent decades. Additionally over twenty three percent of Utah’s population identifies as a racial or ethnic minority, making the ethnic makeup of our state on par with states such as Pennsylvania. Many of these communities that contribute to Utah’s history and culture are not necessarily reflected in official state records or historiography; the Peoples of Utah Revisited aims to correct this record by supporting original research, publication, and digital collection efforts. 

Process

In 2022, the Utah Historical Society (UHS) began recruiting scholars and community partners to help support the project. Over the course of four years, the UHS team worked with forty seven scholars who produced over seventy original research articles and storymaps. In the spirit of the original publication, many of these scholars were self-taught and from the communities which the writing was about, and the Peoples of Utah program supported their efforts by hosting two symposia for authors to connect with one another and worked to support one another in their research efforts. The Community History effort led to engaging over thirty community groups in Scan & Share efforts, a non-extractive, digital scanning event where items of importance were scanned and placed in the Utah Historical Society’s digital collection. These efforts resulted in 1,805 new items to the online digital archive which is now accessible online. The Peoples of Utah Revisited Online is an evergreen collection of resources that will continue to be added to as the Utah Historical Society develops future work that speaks to the efforts of both the 1976 and 2026 projects. 

What Next? 

The Utah Historical Society intends for The Peoples of Utah Revisited to be an evolving resource and one that gets added to over the years. The work of creating and sharing historical narratives never ends, and 2026 is simply a launching pad for the continued efforts at UHS. Interested in contributing to this resource? Please contact Jordan Kiyak at jkiyak@utah.gov for more information.