Archival Futures Series

A MATTER OF FACTS
The Value of Evidence in an Information Age
by Laura A. Millar

The safeguarding of authentic facts is essential, especially in this disruptive Orwellian age, where digital technologies have opened the door to a post-truth world in which “alternative facts” can be so easily accepted as valid. And because facts matter, archives matter. In this urgent manifesto, Laura Millar makes the case that authentic and accurate evidence is crucial in supporting and fostering a society that is respectful, democratic, and self-aware. An eye-opening treatise for the general public, an invaluable resource for archives students, and a provocative call-to-arms for working professionals, Millar’s book:

• explains the concept of evidence and discusses the ways in which records, archives, and data are not just useful tools for our daily existence but also essential sources of evidence both today and in the future;
• includes plentiful examples that illustrate the critical role evidence plays in upholding rights, enforcing responsibilities, tracing family or community stories, and capturing and sharing memories; and
• examines the impact of digital technologies on how records and information are created and used.

With documentary examples ranging from Mesopotamian clay tablets to World War II photographs to today’s Twitter messages and Facebook posts, Millar’s stirring book will encourage readers to understand more fully the importance of their own records and archives, for themselves and for future generations.

About the author:

Laura A. Millar is an independent consultant in records, archives, and information management and in publishing and distance education. She has consulted with governments, nonprofit organizations, and other agencies around the world. She is the author of dozens of publications, including Archives: Principles and Practices, for which she has received the Society of American Archivists' 2011 Waldo Gifford Leland Award. She has taught records and archives management in universities in Canada and internationally. She lives with her husband in Roberts Creek, British Columbia, Canada. 

Click here to order A Matter of Facts

DECOLONIAL ARCHIVAL FUTURES
by Krista McCracken and Skylee-Storm Hogan-Stacey

Providing examples of successful approaches to unsettling Western archival paradigms from Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia, Decolonial Archival Futures showcases vital community archival work that will illuminate decolonial archival practices for archivists, curators, heritage practitioners, and others responsible for the stewardship of materials by and about Indigenous communities.

Simply put, decolonial archival practices involve thinking about and consciously changing how historical knowledge is produced, communicated, and preserved. By examining archival practices that push against and actively counter settler colonialism, this book challenges non-Indigenous practitioners to consider constructs of knowledge, which histories we tell, and how the past is presented. Guided by the authors' incisive synthesis of theory and current practices, readers will learn:

• where Western archival practice is situated in relation to the colonial histories of Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, and the ways in which archival structures have reinforced colonial relationships;
• a working definition of decolonial archival practice, which is rooted in concepts of community, reciprocity, and a desire to actively resist colonial recordkeeping practices;
• the implications of this approach for policy making, collection development, and arrangement and description;
• methods for reframing or reworking original order and provenance using digital technology, community participation, and removing hierarchical structures in order to meet the needs of Indigenous communities;
• examples of community-driven descriptive practices, in which Indigenous knowledge and languages are infused into archival description at both the fonds and file level;
• how the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Protocols for Native American Archival Material, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Library and Information Resources Network Protocols, and other cultural stewardship protocols can be implemented within archival practice; and
• the relationship building work that settler communities and researchers still need to do, demonstrated using examples of partnerships rooted in Indigenous knowledge structures, kinship ties, and relationship with the land.

About the authors:

Krista McCracken is an award-winning public historian and archivist. They work as a Researcher/Curator at Algoma University's Arthur A. Wishart Library and Shingwauk Residential Schools Center in Baawating (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario), on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe and Métis people. Krista's work focuses on community archives, residential schools, access, and outreach.

Skylee-Storm Hogan-Stacey is a public historian, researcher, and analyst currently living and working on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabek in Ottowa, Ontario. A descendant of the Mohawk Nation of Kahnawà:ke, Skylee-Storm has explored community archival practices, Indigenous archival access, residential school hisotry, Indigenous-Crown legal history, and oral history.

Click here to order Decolonial Archival Futures