Institutional Memory as Community Safeguard

Jay Taber

doi:10.63428/wctyk008

Institutional Memory as Community Safeguard

Jay Taber

Volume 7, Number 1 (2025) 7 (1): 62-74

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.63428/wctyk008

Keywords Institutional Memory, Community Safeguard, Narratives, Cultural Preservation, Conflict Prevention, Balkans, Social Conflict, Tohono O'odham Nation, Border Militarization, Role of Storytelling in Community Resilience, Impact of Historical Memory on Conflict Resolution, Impact of U.S. Border Policies, Indigenous Cultural Practices

Abstract

This article examines institutional memory's role in Balkan conflict prevention, showing how narratives preserve community ethics and historical patterns to anticipate threats. This storytelling approach links past experiences to present challenges, building cohesive futures through shared understanding. It also analyzes U.S. border militarization's impact on the Tohono O'odham Nation, documenting systemic harassment by federal agents that restricts ancestral movement and erodes cultural practices. Personal testimonies reveal how border policies violate indigenous sovereignty while broader militarization undermines tribal traditions. The piece converges on cultural preservation as fundamental: narrative memory safeguards Balkan social cohesion, while defending Tohono O'odham land rights exposes the ethical failures of security frameworks that prioritize enforcement over human dignity.