Raising Indigenous Librarians: Diversity and Professional Development in Academic Libraries. Tanya Ball, Kayla Lar-Son, & Lorisia MacLeod
Trigger - Please be aware this presentation will involve sensitive subjects
Map showing the distance between Simmons College and University of Alberta
Canada s three Indigenous groups are First Nations, Métis and Inuit as defined by the Canadian constitution act 1982
The Canadian Context - Colonialism, Residential schools and False promises Canada is a colonial country under Britain. The three Indigenous/Aboriginal groups that are recognized by the Canadian state are: First Nations, Metis and Inuit. -Canada has made treaties with Indigenous peoples. - Not every group falls under treaties. - Colonial policies have deeply impacted Indigenous peoples, and continue to impact Indigenous peoples.
Canadian Treaty Map - we are all treaty people Map of Canada, outlining the boundaries of the numbered treaties, peace and friendship treaties, and land claims
Residential Schools and a legacy of trauma Between 1870 and 1996, Canada s federal government, along with the Catholic, United, Presbyterian and Anglican churches, operated about 130 residential schools Modelled after the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Pennsylvania More than 150,000 Indian, Inuit and Métis children attended these boarding schools far from their parents It is said that aspects of the South African apartheid were modeled after the Residential School System The system formally ended in 1969 but many schools remained open for two more decades. The last school would close in Saskatchewan in 1996. Physical, emotional, and sexual abuse was rampant, and some schools used students as subjects of in nutritional experiments Lateral violence was encouraged It has been estimated that 6000 children died in these schools. Nuns and children at residential school Boys sawing wood at a residential school
TRC and a lasting legacy In 2005 survivors began to come forward with their stories, and class action lawsuits began to arise Truth and Reconciliation Commission was formed In 2008 then Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a formal apology to residential school survivors (although manu do not find it to be sincere) More than 20 million dollars paid to survivors as compensation. But many were left out of the settlement, and reconciliation is still something that Canada is struggling with. 60 s scoop survivors are now coming forward to tell their experiences with being taken away and adopted to white families Intergenerational trauma is still very much present in Aboriginal families Although Aboriginal peoples make up only 4% of Canada s population, they make up 23.2% of Canada s prison population Now foster care is being called Canada s new Residential School, with Aboriginal children amounting to 48% of children in foster care in Canada.
The Internship
This is us- The Trifecta Our LIS experiences as Indigenous students and professionals. LIS building U of A
Tanya Ball Manitoba Métis My sister and I riding canoe behind the ATV in Manitoba
Saint Ambroise, Manitoba St. Ambroise on the map Close up of Lake Manitoba and St. Ambroise
Lepine Family History Stretching beaver furs My Aunty Dee as a child before attending school with the nuns. The last fur from our family s trapline on the Assiniboine Trail Duck hunting in St. Ambroise
Transgenerational trauma Trauma extending over more than one generation My role within this chain My mom and uncle Bernier School - where my family members were educated My mom, uncle, and aunt in front of their house in St. Ambroise.
Current Projects Logo created for the conference University of Alberta Press The Writing Stick: Sharing Indigenous Stories writingstick2017.ca School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) Digital Library North Edmonton Public Library Digital Learning Initiatives
What the Internship means to me... My Grandma and her siblings Mom and me Mom and me
Kayla Kayla s husband on the Pembina River Fishing Tofield, Alberta Student Mentorship- Protect the Mackenzie delta presentations Grad, B.A Hons Native Studies, 2016 Metis Archival Project at the Hudson s Bay Company Archives, Winnipeg Manitoba Pembina Hall - home of the Faculty of Native Studies
Being a Good Ally Know your role as an ally Listen Do no harm - understand the historical and contemporary traumas of a community Communicate Cree powwow performance
Believe Believe that Indigenous peoples have the power to find solutions for ourselves. Support our efforts in ways that ensure the solutions we enact continue to happen. - Âpihtawikosisân (Chelsea Vowel) Inuit throat singers
lorisia Lorisia on a glacier near in north western Alberta Lorisia in Convocation garb with her eagle feather- a high honour in her community
U of A press The entrance to U of A Press housed in a historic building on campus
GET PIC OF RUTHERFORD MAIN DESK The information/reference desk at Rutherford Library where patrons can come around the desk to work side-by-side with staff The reading room in Rutherford also known as the Harry Potter Room Rutherford Library
Why this Matters - - Remove financial barriers Minorities - Active, immediate change Building a place for the Building reciprocal and respectful relationships with underrepresented communities. - Planning for post-degree success
What you can do as a Student or an LIS professional?
Could/Should your institution do a program like this? Mentorships? Student-Student Mentorships Professional-Student Mentorships
Questions? Kayla Lar-Son:verbicky@ualberta.ca Tanya Ball: tcball@ualberta.ca Lorisia MacLeod: lorisia@ualberta.ca