OREGON'S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE
history
Corralling a
Community
FEBRUARY 18. 2011
19
n
The Gay and Lesbian Archives
of the Pacific Northwest bridge
the LGBTQ history gap
BY RYAN J. PRADO
»
When it comes to preserving history, time
is of the essence. Every second that passes
means more and more conjecture, more haze,
less accuracy—and that’s not even taking into
consideration that venomous Achilles’ heel of
perspective. In the race to document the now,
the process of ensuring an acute scope on the
then takes on an immediacy—and in the race
to share the history of the LGBTQ_commu-
nity in the Pacific Northwest, it’s even more
urgent.
Enter the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the
Pacific Northwest.
GLAPN was established in 1994, one of
the first archive projects of its kind in the
United States. At the time, there were pre
cious lew efforts to document any aspect of
LGBTQ_ history, and there were concerns
that history could be rewritten and corrupted
by those trying to denounce it.
“Stop to think for a moment that there re
ally are virtually no academic or public bodies
vested with significant funding to actually
preserve queer history, and this problem still
exists today,” explains GLAPN president
Robert Douglass. “University programs with
gender-based study programs are good candi
dates now, but these are relatively recent, and
even they are struggling to gather fundamen
tal research material on this contemporary
subject.”
Fortunately, those who cared in Oregon
stepped up to form the all-volunteer organi
zation. The group—which on average num
bers around 12 volunteer researchers, archi
vists and community leaders—branches out
to track down oral histories, documents of
historical interest, memorabilia and more. The
Oregon Historical Society holds the GLAPN
archives and do the work of making the infor
mation available to scholars and others hop
ing for a closer look at the Pacific Northwest’s
rich queer history.
Need information about the Portland Vice
Clique Scandal of 1912? GLAPN volunteer
researcher George Painter is in the process of
finishing a book about it. Want to know more
about Portland’s Two Spirit Society? GLAPN
secretary Robin Will took the lead on last
April’s public dialogue session at the Native
American Center. Few things get by the all
volunteer crew.
In addition, GLAPN has been an immea
surably important contributor to Q_ Center’s
ongoing Our Stories series, which aims to
revisit the popular subject of Oregon’s queer
history pioneers. GLAPN is currently in the
brainstorming phase of upcoming Our Stories
installations, including the role of gay bars in
queer history and another on the role of queer
GLAPN members typically field questions,
make referrals, evaluate donated materials or
actually provide short-term homes for do
nated materials.
Douglass says GLAPN picks the projects it
pursues based upon the willingness of indi
vidual members to help execute them.
“We cannot take on more than our mem
bers are willing to put into the effort in their
spare time,” explains Douglass, “but the satis
faction of a story well told is what compels
most of us.”
One key bridge for GLAPN lies in being
able to engage a younger generation of stu
dents with a history they are unlikely to hear
about in any other way. The LGBTQ_History
Capstone class at Portland State University—
taught by GLAPN treasurer Pat Young—is
perhaps the most helpful and visible vehicle
for GLAPN’s continued success.
“Since GLAPN is an all-volunteer organi
zation, it really helps to have the students
gather oral histories for us and to sort through
collections,” says Young. “The people we have
interviewed usually have a wonderful time
talking to the students, and it has been a real
eye-opener for some of the students to hear
stories from the old days.”
“Working with schools and universities [is]
a top priority in our mission,” continues
Douglass. “In this way, we can turn on and
engage a new generation, who in turn will
become the teachers of tomorrow.”
As an apolitical organization, GLAPN is
also able to observe where imbalances may lie
in the accurate representation of queer heritage.
Douglass reports that there’s been a large turn
around in the last five years for greater dialogue
on the transgender community. GLAPN
helped document the 30th anniversary of the
Northwest Gender Alliance in 2010.
“We are at the mercy of those members of
our community to share what information
they have to offer,” says Douglass. “It is not
elitism that determines what stories are being
told and preserved, but rather who are the
ones who are stepping forward and being ac
counted for.”
GLAPN has come a long way since its in
ception, and Douglass says he hopes to con
tinue to break historical archiving barriers.
“I would like to encourage more dialogue
with those communities that wish to be rep
resented more uniquely and with a greater
honesty than ever before." JW
i
A September 1988 clipping of David
Reinhards Oregonian column decry
ing the Cascade AIDS Project posters
on Tri-Met buses.
“Stop to think for a moment
that there really are virtually no
academic or public bodies vested
with significant funding to actually
preserve queer history, and this
problem still exists today.”
—ROBERT DOUGLASS
PRESIDENT, GLAPN
sports within the local community. They also
hope to sponsor lectures on faith and aging
within the queer community as potential fu
ture topics.
In essence, the organization bridges the
generational and cultural gaps in LGBTQ_
history for an ever-evolving community.
While the nonprofit does not specifically con
duct the archiving work for the various LG-
BTQ_ organizations in the region, they do
encourage any queer-inclusive organization
to gather and preserve aspects of its operating
history since the 1970s in order to document
its queer heritage before “contributing mem
bers disappear and the stories are lost to time,”
explains Douglass.
The uphill battle to get the information
documented and archived is compounded by
GLAPN’s lack of active members.
“Our annual budget would just about buy
you a latte at work every day for a year,” says
Will. “We can’t do all of the work, so we’re
most effective as a clearinghouse for informa
tion, and a catalyst to help people and organi
zations preserve their own histories.”
This doesn’t mean that those who are con
sistently dedicating their time have little
with which to work. As Will reports,
GLAPN’s next public meeting is Monday, March
28 at 7 p.m. at Q Center (4115 N. Mississippi
Ave.). To learn more about GLAPN, visit glapn.
org.
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