On April 24, 2018 Stacey Devlin of Know History presented a talk at Algoma University focused on the Métis Nation of Ontario Root Ancestors Project. This fantastic project aims to increase resources and accessibility of information about the unique history and development of Métis communities in Ontario. The Root Ancestors Project was developed based on feedback … Continue reading Métis Nation of Ontario Root Ancestors Project
Names and Family History
Last week NPR and CBC played a number of a stories focusing on feminism, the life of working women, and women's right. Many of these stories were linked to the fact that Friday March 8th was International Women's Day. The abundance of discussion relating to feminism and women's rights cause me to think about the … Continue reading Names and Family History
Other Duties as Assigned: Cemetery Maintenance
Part of my job this week included a number of 'other duties as assigned' tasks. One of such tasks included assisting with cleanup of the Residential School cemetery which is on site where I work. Since I like gardening this was actually a nice afternoon break one day. This particular cemetery was in use from … Continue reading Other Duties as Assigned: Cemetery Maintenance
Historical Photographs: Insight and Value
The April/May issue of Canada's History Magazine contains a short article by Paul Jones, which highlights the ability of photographs to speak to the past. In "Roots: Understanding Family Photos", Jones deconstructs a photograph of his wife's ancestors. This deconstruction allows Jones to date the photograph, provide a location of the photograph, and the entire … Continue reading Historical Photographs: Insight and Value
Introducing the Archive: Greeting First Time Visitors
The overwhelming majority of visitors to the archive I work at have never been inside an archive before. Many of the visitors come from outside academia or are undergraduate and high school students stepping into an archive for the first time. In addition to being new to archives, many visitors are searching for documents relating … Continue reading Introducing the Archive: Greeting First Time Visitors