Indigenous Collections Symposium Webinar

The Indigenous Collections Symposium: Promising Practices, Challenging Issues and Changing the System is an initiative through the Ontario Museum Association, Woodland Cultural Centre, and the Indigenous Knowledge Centre at the Six Nations Polytechnic.  The Symposium is going to be held March 23-24, 2017 in Brantford, Ontario. In-person registration for the event is sold out however … Continue reading Indigenous Collections Symposium Webinar

Listening: Who Killed Alberta Williams?

In December 2016 I listened to "Missing and Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams?" a CBC podcast by Connie Walker.  The podcast focuses on the 1989 death of Alberta Williams on the Highway of Tears near Prince Rupert, British Columbia.  The podcast also discusses Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirits (MMIWG2) in Canada and … Continue reading Listening: Who Killed Alberta Williams?

Archives of Ontario Family Ties Exhibit

Yesterday the Archives of Ontario launched their sesquicentennial exhibit Family Ties: Ontario Turns 150.  Running until 2018 the exhibit looks at 150 years of Ontario and what Ontario was like at the point of confederation.  The onsite exhibit focuses on four family groups in Ontario during the confederation era.  One of those family groups is … Continue reading Archives of Ontario Family Ties Exhibit

Shingwauk Gathering – the 2016 Edition

This past weekend the Shingwauk Gathering and Conference was held at Algoma University.  This event grew out of the 1981 Shingwauk Reunion and invites survivors, inter-generational survivors, those engaged in reconciliation and healing work, and community members to gather, share, and learn.  This year the theme of the Gathering was "Fulfilling the Vision" and focused … Continue reading Shingwauk Gathering – the 2016 Edition

Facing the Past

The August/September issue of Canada's History magazine contains a short piece I wrote about the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre's Remember the Children Photo Identification Project.  This project aims to help connect survivors, families, and communities with residential school photographs.  It also strives to identify the unnamed students pictured in so many residential school photographs.  This … Continue reading Facing the Past

Remember the Children and Canada’s History

I recently wrote a piece for the Canada's History website about the Remember the Children: Photograph Identification Project that was started by the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association and the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre.  This is a project that is near and dear to my heart.  It is one of the initiatives that made me … Continue reading Remember the Children and Canada’s History

Stewarding Collections of Trauma

The Fall 2015 issue of Archivaria included "Stewarding Collections of Trauma: Plurality, Responsibility, and Questions of Action" by Lisa P. Nathan, Elizabeth Shaffer, and Maggie Castor.  The article looked broadly at efforts to manage archives that contain material relating to historical trauma and more specifically at the work of the National Centre for Truth and … Continue reading Stewarding Collections of Trauma

Centennial Celebrations at Residential Schools

I recently was working with an audio recording from the Cowessess Indian Residential School.  The recording was in the form of a seemingly professionally produced record featuring a musical ensemble of Cowessess IRS students.  The recording was produced to celebrate the 1967 Canadian centennial.  This particular item got me thinking about the handful of other … Continue reading Centennial Celebrations at Residential Schools

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba officially opened this week.  The first day of opening  focused on the history of residential schools, reconciliation, and steps for the NCTR going forward.  The second day of he opening emphasized education and included the launch of the NCTR website. Work on the … Continue reading National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

Archives and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Workshop

I recently facilitated a workshop on Archives and the TRC as part of Huron History Day: An Active History Pre-Conference for High School and First Year Students. The workshop focused on the history of residential schools, the unique challenges of residential school archives, the TRC, and reconciliation more broadly.  When planning this workshop I was … Continue reading Archives and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Workshop