Webinar recording now available! Canada’s Reconciliation Framework: Reflections and Advocacy Across Borders

Recording available at link at bottom of post

Canada’s Reconciliation Framework: Reflections and Advocacy Across Borders

Hosted by the Native American Archives Section of the Society of American Archivists & Archival Education and Research Institute

When: Wednesday 13th July 4pm EST/1pm PST 
Where: Zoom, see full details below.

Event Summary:

In late February 2022, the Response to the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Taskforce (TRC-TF) of the Steering Committee on Canada’s Archives (SCCA) released its Reconciliation Framework. This report was the result of over five years of SSHRC-funded research, relationship building, and collaboration across Canada between representatives of the Canadian archival community and Indigenous heritage professionals and practitioners. The Framework provides direction, through recommendations for action, to be taken by Canadian archivists who are ready to embark upon their own personal and professional journey towards reconciliation through respectful relationship building with Indigenous communities represented in their repositories. The Framework also serves to reinforce and support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities’ intellectual sovereignty over records by, or about them, and encourages the reconceptualization of mainstream archival theory, practice and education. This webinar will feature five members of the Taskforce, who will describe the process of developing the Reconciliation Framework, an introduction to the Framework itself and the next steps in their work. In our discussion and Q&A, members of the SAA hope to generate a discussion about how American archival and community colleagues might work together with Canadian colleagues on advancing Indigenous archival policies across these professional and national borders.

Speaker Bios

Erica Hernández-Read is Head of the Northern BC Archives & Special Collections at the University of Northern British Columbia, where she lives, works, and learns on the traditional, unceded territory of the Lheidli T’enneh Nation (Prince George, BC). She earned her BA in anthropology and her MAS in archival studies from UBC and has spent the last 20 years working in the field of archives and collections management. Erica is Co-Chair of the Response to the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Taskforce of the Steering Committee on Canada’s Archives, a member of the Indigitization Program Steering Committee, and current President of the Association of Canadian Archivists (2021–24).

Raegan Swanson serves as the Executive Director of The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives. She holds a BA from Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface and a Master of Information from the University of Toronto iSchool. She has worked as an archivist at Library and Archives Canada, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute and as the Archival Advisor for the Council of Archives New Brunswick. She is currently working on her PhD, focusing on the role of community archives in Inuit communities in Québec. 

Krista McCracken is a public historian and archivist. They work as a researcher/curator at Algoma University’s Arthur A. Wishart Library and Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, in Baawating (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario), on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe and Métis people. Krista’s research interests include community archives, residential schools, access, and outreach.

Jennifer Jansen has been working since 2010 with the Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN), where her many roles include Information Management Coordinator, FOI Officer, and Clerk for the TFN Judicial Council. Jennifer also manages TFN’s Registry of Laws and acts as the back-up Indian Registry Administrator. Prior to these roles, Jennifer worked as an assistant archivist for the District of West Vancouver, a records analyst for the City of Vancouver, and a claims researcher for Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada in the Federal Ministry of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Jennifer graduated from UBC’s School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies in 2003 with a Master of Archival Studies, First Nations Curriculum Concentration.

Donald Johnson (Lytton Nation) is the Information Management Analyst and Special Media Archivist, Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan. Donald’s archival practice bridges communities of practice and transforms operational cultures. Through guidance, collaboration, and education, Donald strives to build confidence and capacity in those he serves. Donald is a member of the Lytton First Nation, located at the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson rivers in British Columbia. Donald has degrees in archival studies (MAS), fine arts (BFA), linguistics (BA), and computer science (BSC). Donald is Co-Chair of the Response to the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Taskforce of the Steering Committee on Canada’s Archives.