Outside the Box

The Saskatchewan Council of Archives and Archivists (SCAA) is inviting nominations for its Board of Directors and welcoming volunteers for SCAA committees ahead of the 2026 Annual General Meeting on June 23, 2026. Committee involvement helps share the workload, reduce individual time commitments, and bring wider member input into SCAA’s work. SCAA is committed to reducing barriers to participation and building a Board that reflects the diversity of people, experiences, and archival work across Saskatchewan. We encourage nominations from all regions of the province and a wide range of backgrounds. Board of Directors – Open Positions: President (2-year term) Three Members-at-Large (2-year terms) Who Should Consider Serving? You do not need to be a professional archivist to contribute. We welcome experience in: Community or grassroots history projects Volunteer work in archives, museums, libraries, or heritage organizations Indigenous, local, or family history initiatives Reco...

Home of the Northern Saskatchewan Archives  As we deal physically with the smoke of forest fires in our communities, our thoughts are with those who are dealing with the actual fires in the north. We were heartbroken to hear of the loss the hundreds pieces of Indigenous art and historical artifacts when Robertson Trading burned as a wildfire tore through part of the community of La Ronge, but relieved to know that Graham Guest, who serves as the Archivist at the Northern Saskatchewan Archives, in the Pahkisimon Nuye?áh Library System (PNLS), was able to save photos of some of the lost Robertson's material.  Below is a summary of several emails that Graham was able to send in July and early August to Gloria and myself at SCAA as well as James Hope Howard (Director of PNLS) and Linda Collins (Office Administrator PNLS) "Hello, all, Thanks for your concerns about our archives and Suzanne (Graham's partner) and me. We are still camping at Murray Point so I thou...

Hello, My name in Nicole Kruppi and I am the new SCAA President. Professionally I have worked most of my career (19 years) in the Records and Information Management field but like to think of myself as a long-suffering Archivist. My career has taken me across Canada. For the past seven years I lived in New Brunswick, Canada, working in the oil and gas industry at Irving Oil. Prior to that I lived in Calgary for nine years and worked for both the Public Service (Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), as well as spending time at TC Energy. Closer to home, which in my mind has been Saskatoon, I worked for the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in the Specific Claims Archive & Library, and the Saskatchewan Archives Board as both a Records Manager and Project Archivist. Prior to deciding that I wanted to be an Archivist when I grew up, I worked at SaskTel Mobility. I hold a Masters in Archival Studies from the Univer...

Name : Mason Hausermann Position : Arts Intern, U of R Archives & Special Collections Area of Study : Bachelor of Arts (Major: History, Minor: English) Career Aspirations : I would love to work in archives, libraries or museums once I’ve completed my degree. Why did you want to do an internship at the Archives?   To gain more insight into the heritage field. I was interested to learn more about what goes into the process of collection and digitization, as this is an often-overlooked component. Another aspect that drew me to this internship was the fact that I would be interacting with records and artifacts. I spent last summer as a student at the Doukhobor Heritage Village and really enjoyed this kind of hands-on work so I was glad to have a chance to do more of it. What was your project?  The digitization of Dr. George F. Ledingham's Ornithological study records. They form part of the Dr. George F. Ledingham Herbarium at the U of R’s Faculty of Science. The Herbarium i...

From time-to-time this Blog will share stories shared from members of Friends of the Saskatchewan Archives via their "Interim Gopher" Bill Armstrong. Cheers,  Cameron "Greetings, Gopherites. The interim gopher has a mixed bag for you in this missive. First, it's always a positive thing to recognize someone who is finding creative ways to teach the young 'uns, in and out of the classroom, and especially so when it comes to teaching history, which the gopher thinks has a bad reputation in this country. So, read on..  https://www.canadashistory.ca/awards/governor-general-s-history-awards/award-recipients/2023/andre-boutin-maloney Next up, a small newspaper clipping from Allan Miller, who continues to comb through back issues of Ontario newspapers and pass on stories of folks with connections to this province. In this case, the brief article (attached) is a reminder that not all stories of those who came to Saskatchewan are success stories. As we approach winter, ...

 From time-to-time this Blog will share stories shared from members of Friends of the Saskatchewan Archives via their "Interim Gopher" Bill Armstrong. Cheers, Cameron Hello FOPASKers. The gopher's invitation to share stories about the homesteading experience brought the following story from Friend Frank Korvemaker. While not strictly about homesteading, it's a great yarn. The gopher experienced Hurricane Hazel on land, and that was more than enough, thank you very much. I can't imagine what it was like with a waterline view.  Here is a photo of me – age 7, on board the Holland America Line’s “Groote Beer” (Big Bear) on Oct. 14, 1954, in Rotterdam, about to set out for Canada.  Seven days later we were bobbing up, down and sideways on the mighty Atlantic, while Hurricane Hazel was throwing the last of her ferocity at anyone who got in her way.  We made it safely to Montreal on Oct 24 th . to begin our sojourn in Canada. Below is a photo of the “Groote Beer” - a Wor...