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Archives

    Indigenous History Month | Challenges in Indigenous Archiving

    by Guest Author June 22, 2021
    written by Guest Author

    This guest post was written by Christian Isbister who worked with our team at the University of Alberta Archives to help begin the process of decolonizing their collection.

    Tanisi, hello! My name is Christian Isbister, I’m a Métis librarian/archivist, and I most recently completed a contract with the University of Alberta Archives where I made some early steps towards decolonizing their collection. Here I’ll talk about some of the inherent difficulties in searching for Indigenous materials in archives, which will hopefully show why decolonizing these spaces are important.

    First, I think it would be helpful to briefly go over some concepts in archives that I’ll be using. Archives are organized and accessed a little differently than libraries. While in a library you can look for an individual thing, like a book or an article, at the University of Alberta Archives you often search for Fonds, which is an archival term that describes all the records held in the archive by one creator. So, for example, you might search for the Julian Mills Fonds, which will include his photographs, diary entries, newspaper clippings, letters, or anything else he created.

    Photo titled “Indian Dog Team”, part of the Julian Mills Fonds.

    This brings me to the first issue that Indigenous researchers come across, which is that archival descriptions prioritize the creator of the records, not the subjects. As I’m sure you can imagine, historically speaking Indigenous Peoples have rarely been the creators of these records. Instead, they get described in the records of other people. This can make it difficult to search for material about Indigenous Peoples, since you can only find them by searching for the record creators. In the archive there are thousands of photographs of Indigenous Peoples, but the best way to find them is to know who took those photographs.

    Photo titled “Chiefs and Dancers”, part of the William Rowan Fonds.

    Another big challenge you might come across is that many of these records detail history that is inherently traumatic. This can make research very difficult for Indigenous Peoples who are looking for their histories in archives. Even if material isn’t traumatic, there are lots of archival records that contain very racist or derogatory language. All of this can make using the archive a difficult process for Indigenous Peoples, and makes the archive a place of colonial violence.

    Photo titled “Mr. Joe Rhone and Boy in Costume”, part of the William Rowan Fonds.

    The final issue I’d like to talk to you about is about the often messy landscape of ownership of Indigenous materials. At the heart of the problem is that lots of the archival materials about Indigenous Peoples were donated without their consultation or their consent. When donating things to archives, the donors themselves have the option of putting restrictions on their materials. So, for example, they could say that no one can access their Fonds without first getting their permission. Indigenous Peoples will also place restrictions on their own stories, so for example certain stories can only be shared during certain times of the year, or are only meant to be shared with other members of their communities. A common example is that no photographs of the Sundance are permitted. These restrictions were rarely considered when materials were donated, and archives will often have material that they should never have collected in the first place.

    It’s a bit of a tangled mess we’ve found ourselves in, but I wanted to end on a bit of a hopeful note. We now have a (mostly) complete inventory of everything by or about Indigenous Peoples.

    While this isn’t currently publicly accessible, it does mean that if you want to look in the archive for Indigenous material, then the Archive staff there are better prepared to help you. In addition, the University of Alberta Archives is looking at returning some of the sensitive material to different Indigenous communities, or else place further restrictions on those materials. Archives can be a really great resource filled with amazing things, not only for scholarly research but for learning more about your family histories. I’m hopeful that, with continued work, we can make more Indigenous folks feel welcome in accessing the archives.

    Researchers wanting to access items that are housed at the University of Alberta Archives can do so by appointment only. Visit the University of Alberta Archives’ website to search their holdings and learn how you can book a visit.

    June 22, 2021 0 comment
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  • New Archives Website

    by Meredith Bratland January 26, 2021
    by Meredith Bratland January 26, 2021

    The University of Alberta Archives website has been overhauled and redesigned. It’s looking fabulous, if we do say so ourselves! With the new website, users will be able to: easily search the archives collection from the homepage search bar, read FAQs to help you prepare for a visit to the archive, and discover the Archives Digital Collections hosted on ERA (UAlberta’s digital repository) and the Internet Archive. We hope you enjoy the…

  • Les bibliothécaires qui travaillent à domicile : Rencontrez Anna!

    by Eva Romanick May 7, 2020
    by Eva Romanick May 7, 2020

    Puisque la majorité des étudiants et du personnel on été conseillés de travailler et d’étudier depuis leur domicile, c’est ainsi que notre archiviste soutient l’apprentissage en ligne… En tant qu’introvertie sociale, Anna a pleinement adopté le travail à domicile. Tant qu’elle a son mari, son fils et deux chiens à proximité, elle est satisfaite, heureuse et incroyablement productive ! Bien sûr, Anna ne peut pas vraiment traiter des documents, créer des inventaires…

  • Staff working from home: Meet Anna!

    by Eva Romanick May 7, 2020
    by Eva Romanick May 7, 2020

    With the majority of students and staff being advised to work and study from home, this is how our archivist is supporting online learning… Being a social introvert, Anna has fully embraced working from home. As long as she has her husband, son and two dogs nearby, she is content, happy and incredibly productive! Ok sure, Anna can’t actually process records, create inventories or physically acquire new records, but there are a…

  • Let us introduce you to… Marissa!

    by Eva Romanick December 9, 2019
    by Eva Romanick December 9, 2019

    Staff profiles tell the story of an organization. Here at the University of Alberta Library, this is ours… Meet Marissa Fraser!Marissa Fraser is the Archives and Special Collections Assistant at the University of Alberta Archives and Bruce Peel Special Collections. You can find her working on both South and North Campus.  You have an interesting role working in Archives, what do you spend most of your day working on?I’m the Archives and Special…

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The University of Alberta is situated on traditional Treaty 6 territory and homeland of the Métis peoples. Amiskwaciwâskahikan / ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᕀᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ / Edmonton


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