Archives and Reconciliation

Truth, reconciliation, and decolonization are at the forefront of many peoples' minds these days, and no less so in the archival community. Archives have a crucial role to play in the truth-seeking and acknowledgement that must occur before meaningful reconciliation can take place between Indigenous peoples and Canada's settler populations.  By preserving records of Indigenous history under colonial rule and walking the line between making those records accessible, but protecting the identities of those who suffered under the system, archivists are uniquely situated to provide supports for change. For this reason, the SCAA wishes to provide additional supports to our members as they work within this rapidly shifting landscape of Indigenous-Settler relationships. To this end, a workshop is being offered on March 12th, 2018 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at the First Nations University Multipurpose Room. The day-long workshop will consist of two parts, Morning Presenter : Mr. Eugene Arcand A Cree from the Muskeg Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan, Mr. Arcand spent 10 years at the St. Michael Indian Residential School in Duck Lake and 1 year at the Lebret Student Residence, both in Saskatchewan. Over the last 37 years, Mr. Arcand has served the Saskatchewan First Nations community in a variety of capacities particularly with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations as an Education Liaison Worker, an Executive Assistant for the North Battleford District and as an elected Vice-Chief. He also served as the Executive Director of the Prince Albert Indian and Metis Friendship Centre. Mr. Arcand has dedicated much of his time as an organizer of major events such as regional and national First Nations sports, cultural events, tourism, as well as events geared toward First Nations' youth advancement. A Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Mr. Arcand also received the Saskatchewan Tourism Ambassador Award in 1997 and was named Prince Albert Citizen of the Year in 1994. Over the past few years Mr. Arcand has worked on ensuring that both the public and survivor communities are kept informed of the developments and processes linked to the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement. Afternoon Workshop : Blanket Exercise The blanket exercise is a teaching tool to share the historic and contemporary relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.This eye opening exercise has been used to:  Introduce the worldviews, spiritual ideas, cultural values and protocols of Indigenous people in Saskatchewan to settler populations. Highlight historical and contemporary issues that influence Aboriginal peoples. Build trust and respectful relationships through awareness, comfort, confidence and much improved communications. For more information on this exercise, visit: http://www.kairoscanada.org/what-we-do/indigenous-rights/blanket-exercise More information on the workshop:  To further aid our members in attending this important session, a special allocation of funds has been made to the SCAA 2017-18 Professional Development fund for this workshop only, http://www.scaa.sk.ca/members-section/funding-programs/. Please submit applications to the PD fund ASAP as we approach the end of the fiscal year. Lunch and refreshments will be available for participants. Complimentary parking for this event will be assigned to Lot 12. See map here To register please download and complete this form: Registration form for download (PDF) Please Register no later than March 8th