Finding Memory: Highlights from the Indigenous Reference Files

Image: SPRA 510.12.18.015 Part of the Indigenous Reference Files collection

One of the large projects for our summer student this year was digitizing the Indigenous reference files. This project involved digitizing and describing the reference files related to Indigenous peoples in this region. There are twenty-two Indigenous reference files with twenty centimeters of textual records. This project was prioritized to support the Indigenous History Committee, whose purpose is to examine the ways we can preserve and promote the history of the Indigenous Peoples in the south Peace in order to support reconciliation. This committee was established in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s (TRC) Calls to Action. The Indigenous Reference File Project was chosen because it helps make Indigenous centered information publicly available.  This helps to do our part in fulfilling the TRC Calls to Action. This project was made possible with funding support from Young Canada Works.

The digitization portion of this project was finished in mid-July. As we create an itemized finding aid for the files we will start to share some of the items through blog posts, like this one!

This item is an article from the Daily Herald Tribune in 1980 about members of the Grande Prairie Friendship Center performing a rain dance in Bear Creek Park to help farmers in the area who were battling with dry fields. The nine members pictured, who are unnamed, were joined by the Mayor Al Romanchuk.  Joe Campbell also joined in full regalia despite being on crutches. The article says that the dance must have worked as it rained the next day!

The reference files give us a glimpse into our local history, and especially now that they are digitized, are an incredibly valuable resource! If you want to see more from the Indigenous reference files, keep your eye on the blog for posts like this.

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