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...

With the arrival of spring (soon we hope), the call for recruitment of new Board members to the SCAA Board of Directors once again enters your inbox. SCAA has openings on our Board of Directors and we always welcome a mix of people who have served in the past and those who are new to the role. Any members who would like to support archives across Saskatchewan are encouraged to nominate themselves for the Board. It’s a great opportunity to meet other archivists and learn more about the issues facing archives. Board participation also gives individuals a chance to develop (or refine) their skills relating to grant adjudication, interpretation of financial statements, application of policy and governance principles. If you don’t have experience, do not worry, the SCAA staff are always ready to help and you will be joining a Board with a mix of veterans and newcomers :-) As we start emerging from the turmoil of the past couple of years, we have begun the process of returning to face-to-...

  Greetings, fellow FOPASKers. A few days ago Friend Ron sent along a couple of photos he had discovered in his family archive, which he sent along with this request: We have this photograph of Sprucedale Farm  It appears to be in southern Saskatchewan from  the lack of trees and rolling hills. With all your connections, would you have any way of finding out where this was located? I believe the owners were Don and Kate McLaren but I have been unable to find their names anywhere. With your sleuthing abilities perhaps you might come up with something.   With great appreciation,         Ron D About the gopher's sleuthing abilities, pshaw, although I did check a couple of books of Saskatchewan place names, finding Spruce Bay and Spruce Lake, both in the parkland zone on the NorthWest side. As Ron notes, Sprucedale doesn't look like a good fit. There is also the date on the barn, 1910, when there was still land to be settled on in southern areas of th...

  Talking About If These Places Could Talk: Snapshots of Saskatchewan Crista Bradley When I was granted a one-year research sabbatical leave from the University of Regina Archives in July 2019, I was able to move forward with a project that’s been on my mind for several years.   The objective of the sabbatical was to research and write a children's book and companion educator’s guide that would help kids connect with Saskatchewan archives and further develop their understanding of our province’s diverse history. The year was rich and the pace was vigorous as I worked to review the professional literature on youth outreach and archival/historical products designed for children, identify a theme and format for the book, and investigate publishing options.   With support from a SCAA Professional Development Grant, I attended Canada History’s Historical Thinking Summer Institute, to help me frame my approach to packaging historical...

     Across Canada, undocumented and unmarked graves of Indigenous children are being located at former Residential Schools, reaffirming the testimony of residential school survivors. The role of residential schools in the wilful dismantling and destruction of Indigenous peoples’ cultures and families is becoming increasingly obvious. Many are looking for ways to provide aid and support to Indigenous communities in their grief. Archives have a very particular and important role to play in these efforts.      At this time, we urge members of the Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists to dig deep into their collections to see if they have anything that could be useful in identifying Indigenous children in unmarked graves at these residential school burial sites. Furthermore, we would encourage archivists to assess their holdings for any materials that relate to Indigenous genealogy. Families were torn apart by the residenti...

From time-to-time we welcome the input from our friend the Interim Gopher, Bill Armstrong, of the Friends of Saskatchewan Archives (FoSA) in contributing stories and additional insights to "Outside the Box." Salutations to all those flour-coated FOPASKers out there. The gopher has stumbled upon a commentary that explains why you are sitting by your stove at 3 am, waiting for the bread to be baked, or punching a mound of dough at any hour of the day. Bet you didn't realize what you were doing was so culturally significant.. https://heritagesask.ca/news/blog/the-stuff-of-life-the-living-heritage-of-bread-in-a-time-of-change Turning to another matter, the photo of the fowl supper, which produced some wicked punning from members Ralph and Frank, also brought a query about what happened to the Matador Co-op Farm. A link to story that appeared in Prairies North magazine proved a dead end. The gopher did discover that the farm continued into the second generat...