Residential School Community Archives: Spaces of Trauma and Community Healing

Colonial archives are sites of trauma, erasure, and grief for many marginalized communities. In Canada the vast majority of archives relating to Indigenous peoples are held by government, church, and non-Indigenous archives. Colonial archives have actively taken Indigenous culture and heritage away from communities and made it inaccessible to those who the records are about.  Many archives containing information relating to Residential Schools have just begun to grapple with the ethical and professional obligations that come from holding records that document colonial violence, abuse, death, and assimilationist practices. This article explores the practices of the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre (SRSC) community archive and the ways in which the SRSC supports community healing and navigates traumatic archival records.   Since its establishment the SRSC archives has been a place of raw emotion and grief, but also a place of tremendous community strength, healing, and resilience. This article will explore the trauma associated with archives of Residential Schools and the ongoing navigation of archival spaces which embody loss and community. Pre-print first published online 09/28/202

Introduction

In the library profession, and in the world as a whole, the experiences of trans and gender diverse people often go unnoticed, hidden, and ignored. But we are here. Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in Libraries is entirely written and edited by trans and gender diverse people involved in the field: its fifty-seven authors include workers from academic and public libraries, special collections and archives, and more; LIS students; and a few people who have left the library profession completely. This book is not intended to be the definitive guide to trans and gender diverse experiences in libraries, but instead to start the conversation. It is our hope that this book will help trans and gender diverse people in libraries realize that they are not alone, and that their experiences are worth sharing. This book also demonstrates some of the reality in a field that loves to think of itself as inclusive. From physical spaces to policies to interpersonal ignorance and bigotry, the experiences recounted in this book demonstrate that the library profession continues to fail its trans and gender diverse members over and over again. You cannot read these chapters and claim that Safe Zone stickers and “libraries are for everyone” signs have done the job. You cannot assume that everything is fine in your workplace because nobody has spoken out. You can no longer pretend that we don’t exist

Introduction to Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in Libraries

In the library profession, and in the world as a whole, the experiences of trans and gender diverse people often go unnoticed, hidden, and ignored. But we are here. Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in Libraries is entirely written and edited by trans and gender diverse people involved in the field: its fifty-seven authors include workers from academic and public libraries, special collections and archives, and more; LIS students; and a few people who have left the library profession completely. This book is not intended to be the definitive guide to trans and gender diverse experiences in libraries, but instead to start the conversation. It is our hope that this book will help trans and gender diverse people in libraries realize that they are not alone, and that their experiences are worth sharing. This book also demonstrates some of the reality in a field that loves to think of itself as inclusive. From physical spaces to policies to interpersonal ignorance and bigotry, the experiences recounted in this book demonstrate that the library profession continues to fail its trans and gender diverse members over and over again. You cannot read these chapters and claim that Safe Zone stickers and “libraries are for everyone” signs have done the job. You cannot assume that everything is fine in your workplace because nobody has spoken out. You can no longer pretend that we don’t exist

Doing the work: Editing Wikipedia as an act of reconciliation

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action outline the responsibilities of cultural heritage workers to educate both themselves and the general public about the Canadian Indian Residential School System (Residential Schools). This article positions the editing of Wikipedia though a lens of reconciliation as one way for cultural heritage workers to respond to the Calls to Action regarding the education of non-Indigenous Canadians about the damaging impacts of settler colonialism and the spectrum of Indigenous heritage -  past, present, and future – often ignored in the teaching of Canadian history

Collaborative archival practice: Rethinking outreach, access, and reconciliation using Wikipedia

Based on first-hand experience and concrete examples, the presentation outlines the use of Wikipedia as a tool for community engagement and as a way of improving the discoverability of archival content through collaboration. The panelists also discuss their practices relating to the development of Wikipedia pages about underrepresented peoples and communities. This includes a discussion of the education role Wikipedia and archivists can play relating to the residential school legacy, the TRC Calls to Action and reconciliation

"That’s my Auntie" : Community-Guided Residential School History

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada called for increased access to archival material documenting the history of Residential Schools. What does this access and associated programming look like? How can archives approach sharing Residential School history in an ethical and culturally appropriate way? This project report provides examples of reciprocal approaches to archival work by drawing on a case study of the community-guided work undertaken by the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSAA) and the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre (SRSC)

Laughter Filled the Space: Challenging Euro-Centric Archival Spaces

This article offers a view of decolonialized approaches to archival spaces and insight into community centered constructions of space. By addressing perceptions of space and the physicality of where archives are accessed, this piece focuses on the emotional, physical, and intellectual barriers that are associated with archival information. The authors address the numerous facets of physical archival spaces, including but not limited to physical seating, wall colours, and sounds within a space. The authors highlight the differences between Euro-centric settler archives and Indigenous community archival spaces as a way to provide models for decolonialized approaches to creating archival space

Chapter 49: Bursting Into The Building

"Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in Libraries" is an anthology of experiences of trans and gender diverse people involved in the library and information studies field. "Bursting Into The Building" is a first-person essay about the author's experience job hunting as a new professional who is also nonbinary trans with disabilities