The Asmat people have a rich cultural and historical heritage, recorded in various forms of artistic expression, spirituality, and unique social systems. However, since the arrival of missionaries and colonial governments in the mid-20th century, the region has experienced various forms of change, both socially, culturally, and ecologically. Many early documents about the Asmat people—including photographs, field notes, ethnographic reports, and cultural artifacts—have been archived by researchers and missionaries, especially by members of the MSC Missionaries and the Order of the Holy Cross, who have previously conducted intensive documentation and study of the Asmat people. 

Unfortunately, until now, many of these important archives have been written in Dutch and English, making them inaccessible or incomprehensible to the Asmat people themselves. This creates a gap in knowledge between the younger generation of Asmat and their extensively documented history and identity that is beyond their linguistic and geographical reach. Serious efforts are needed to translate these archives into Indonesian so that they can be read and understood by the local community and can be used as learning materials and cultural reflection.

In our research in Asmat, the Netherlands, and also on several websites, we found many archives about Asmat—from missionary notes, scientific journals, old photographs, to collections of cultural objects stored in European and American museums. This shows that most of the knowledge and documentation about the Asmat people is actually outside the Asmat region itself. Moreover, until now, no local institution in Asmat specifically focuses on managing, researching, and publishing these archives for the sake of education and preservation of local culture.

For more than 6 years, we have been working in the Sawa Erma region, assisting the mission work of Father Vince Cole, MM. We began to be involved in the archiving process of various documents and writings about Asmat. We collected important writings from figures such as Bishop Alphonse Sowada, OSC, the OSC Missionaries, Father Vince Cole, MM, and other writers and researchers who have documented Asmat culture. In addition, we also collected the results of Father Bob, MM’s linguistic research, archives of Asmat folklore and myths, documentary photographs, and audio-visual recordings. These initial efforts showed that archives do not only belong to the past, but can be the basis for learning and the direction of the future of society.

This is the background to the establishment of the Asmat Archive and Research Institute, an independent institution that focuses on archiving, research, and publications on the Asmat people. One of the main goals of this institution, besides collecting archives, is to translate important archives into Indonesian, and redistribute them to local communities through educational activities, discussions, exhibitions, and other creative publications. This institution also aims to be a center for collaboration between researchers, educational institutions, indigenous communities, and global institutions that care about Asmat history and culture.