Course:ARST573/Archives in Manitoba

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There has been a long history of archival activity in the Province of Manitoba. The provincial repository, the Archives of Manitoba, began operating in 1884 as part of the legislative library.[1] Since 1974 it has also held the Hudson's Bay Company Archives after it was transferred from England.[2] Over time Manitoba has developed a broad ranging archival system, which currently includes 31 municipal, university, religious, and organizational archives.[3] The Association for Manitoba Archives supports these repositories and the professionals working within them. There are various pieces of provincial legislation that supports and enforces archival activity in the province.

The Association for Manitoba Archives

The main advocacy and organizational body for the Manitoba archival system is The Association for Manitoba Archives (AMA). The AMA was established in 1992, stemming from two precursor organizations: The Association of Manitoba Archivists, founded in 1980, and the Manitoba Council of Archives. The Association thus represents both the province's archivists, and its archival institutions.

The AMA's mandate is "to preserve the heritage of people and institutions of the Province of Manitoba by improving the administration, effectiveness and efficiency of the province's archival system[s]."[4]

The Association for Manitoba Archives performs a variety of functions. They provide educational services to the province's archivists through a variety of seminars, workshops, and lectures about archival principles and procedures, as well as running an advisory services for archivists wishing to improve their institution's practices and procedures. The Association serves as an advocacy and public relations body, attempting to advocate for archival concerns and to raise awareness of archives among the general population. They coordinate and administer funding from the Canadian Council of Archives among Manitoba's repositories, and also provide professional development and travel grants. Lastly, the Association runs a newsletter to inform the province's archivists about their activities as well as events and topics of concern from around the country.[5]

The AMA runs the Manitoba Archival Information Network (MAIN). MAIN is “an online searchable database of descriptions of archival material held by Manitoba’s archives.” The purpose of this service is to increase access to the archival holdings in the province. Any institutional member of the AMA is able to have their descriptions hosted on MAIN, and currently 31 institutions have placed their descriptions on this site.[3]

Archival Education

File:UniversityOfManitoba logo.gif
University Of Manitoba Logo

The University of Manitoba offers an Masters of Arts in Archival Studies program, which has been beneficial to the development of the archival system in the province. Running since 1991, the program offers a comprehensive study of both the historical and cultural aspects of archival work and the contemporary administrative aspects. The program has graduated 71 students, who are now employed in archives around Manitoba, Canada, and the world.[6]

The program is a research-based program, with a compulsory thesis component.[7] While routine archival practices can be learned on the job (and through the program's compulsory three month internship), the thesis component hopes to teach students the most complex and advanced aspects of archival work, and allow the students to develop written, analytical, and research skills that are so important in the archival field.[8]

Legislation

Manitoba has two main pieces of legislation which govern the operations of archives in the province: The Archives and Recordkeeping Act, and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The Archives and Recordkeeping Act only governs the provincial archives, while FIPPA covers all public archives.

The Archives and Recordkeeping Act (2001)

The Archives and Recordkeeping Act gives the exclusive mandate to preserve the records of the Manitoba government and its agencies, courts and legislature to The Archives of Manitoba. It also gives the Archives of Manitoba the ability to acquire records of private organizations and individuals, and local public bodies. In addition it asserts the archives' authority over the Hudson's Bay Company Archives.[9] The predecessor to this act was the 1955 Public Records Act, which influenced the development of the Archives of Manitoba.[10]

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (1997)

Manitoba's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act came into force for all provincial government departments and agencies in May 1998. It was later extended to the City of Winnipeg in August 1998, and then to all local governments, school divisions, community colleges, universities, regional health authorities and hospitals in April 2000.[11]

The Act requires public bodies provide access to their records and regulates how these bodies manage personal information. It also created an independent review process for decisions made under FIPPA.[12]

The Act does not cover: court records, records of the legislative assembly and its officers, records of members of the legislative assembly who are not ministers, personal or constituency records of ministers of elected officials of local public bodies, records relating to a prosecution of inquest under the Fatality Inquiry Act that has not been completed, private records held in the Archives of Manitoba, records of credit unions, and records under statutes that prevail over FIPPA (The Adoption Act, for example).[11]

Provincial Archives

YorkBoat-1910

The Archives of Manitoba are located in Winnipeg, Manitoba and grew out of the Legislative Library. The Archives of Manitoba has a mandate to acquire and preserve the records of the government, the courts, and the legislature, as well as records from private sector organizations and individuals and local governments. The archives also holds the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives.[9]

History

The first archival activity in the Province of Manitoba occurred in 1884 with the passing of “An Act Respecting the Library and Museum of the Legislature of Manitoba." The act created the provincial library and set out that the “books, paintings, statues, maps, archives and museum which are in the possession of the Legislature of Manitoba…shall be kept in suitable rooms set apart for the purpose.”[1] Until the 1930's, provincial archival material was kept in a bookcase in the office of the Provincial Librarian.[13]

In 1920 the holdings reached 3.5 feet of shelf space, and consisted of Red River census books from 1838, 1840, 1843, 1847, 1849, books of records of general quarterly court of Assiniboia from the 1840’s to the 1860’s, letters and accounts from the “red river time,” and several official record books from first decade of the province. It also held an almost complete set of local newspapers such as the Nor'Wester.[13] According to George Brown's 1935 article detailing the development of provincial archives, the state of the archives in Manitoba had not much changed in the fifteen years since 1920, and was at a similar level of development to many other provincial archives (other than that of Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia who had well-established archives).[14]

1955 was an important year the provincial archives in Manitoba. That year, the Manitoba legislature passed the Public Records Act, which created a system for the protection of important records and the disposal of the rest. It set up a "documents committee" made up of the legislative librarian (who still administered the archives) and representatives from the treasury department, comptrolling and audit branch, and the attorney general's department, who were responsible for scheduling the destruction of records. This marked the start of the Manitoba provincial archives being involved in the functioning of the Public Records Office, and records control in general, which was fairly unique among Canadian provincial archives.[10]

The 1970's were a period where the funding and levels of activity of provincial archives in Canada was uneven and often weak, despite all provinces finally having established a provincial repository by 1968. The Provincial Archives of Manitoba, however, had a fairly active program. In this decade they were involved in renovations to create a new archival repository, including a conservation facility. The archives also continued their progress to being more involved in government record keeping.[15]

Holdings

Government Records

The Archives holds government records beginning in 1870, when Manitoba was established. This includes the records of the legislative assembly, government departments and agencies, crown corporations, commissions of inquiry, and Manitoba’s courts.[9]

Private Records

The private records in the Archives of Manitoba include correspondence, journals, organizational records, photographs, posters and documentary art, moving images and sound recordings, and cartographic and architectural drawings from individuals, organizations and community groups. The earliest records date from the Red River Settlement.[9]

The Hudson's Bay Company Archives

Flag of the Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) first began to compile their records in 1796 for internal use. Though some privileged outsiders were allowed to see them, it was not until the 1920’s that the company decided they would make the records available to researchers. At this point they began to arrange and describe the records at their new archives department in London.

The Canadian Government first expressed interest in having the Hudson's Bay Company records transferred to Canada in 1898 when the Public Archives of Canada was looking for records to acquire that were of historical significance to Canada. Though none were relinquished, in 1920 a copying program was initiated by the then Dominion Archivist of Canada, Arthur Doughty. The Hudson's Bay Company itself spoke of transferring the archives from London to Canada (or Oxford) in 1932, but it was not until the 1970's that any action was taken.[16] In 1970 the HBC head office was transferred from London to Canada, which provided impetus for the 1973 decision to loan the records longterm to Canada, and decided to house them at the Archives of Manitoba. They were shipped in 1974, and opened to the public the year after.[2]

The Hudson’s Bay Company Archives (HBCA) were officially donated to the Province of Manitoba in 1994 under a gift agreement that stipulated that the HBCA would be made part of the holdings of the Archives of Manitoba, but would be administered as a separate division.[17]

The HBCA are still housed at the Archives of Manitoba, as the official repository of the Hudson’s Bay Company. They have a mission to both preserve the current holdings of the HBC and acquire records of the HBC and other records “relating to its history and historiography.” They also strive to promote understanding and use of the records through description and automation, provide a high standard of public service to users physically in the archives, and remote users. They also try to promote awareness of the holdings through public programming.[18]

The current holdings are made up of both administrative and private records spanning from 1671 to 1970. It boasts over 3,000 linear meters of textual records, over 130,000 photographs, 1,350 works of documentary art, over 12,000 maps, charts, plans and architectural drawings, and about 100 film recordings and 485 sound recordings.[17]

The HBCA are supported by the HBC History Foundation who’s mandate is to “provide operating funds for continued maintenance of the HBCA and the HBC museum collection.”[2]

Municipal Archives

Municipal archives have traditionally been slow to develop in Canada, with many only being formed in the late 1980's and 1990's with the advent of freedom of information legislation and the proliferation of the idea that keeping records in their original geographical location adds context.[19] In 1980 there were only 14 municipal archives in the country, and 37 by 1987. Manitoba is no different: in 1980 there were no municipal archival institutions in the province, though the City of Winnipeg made the first steps toward an archival program in 1977.[20]

There are a total of 7 municipal/ community archives in Manitoba today, but the City of Winnipeg is the only city in the province with a full archival program.[21]

City of Winnipeg Archives and Records Control Branch

River walkway near The Forks, with St. Boniface Cathedral in the background

The preservation of government records started early in the history of the City of Winnipeg. It is claimed that the first such activity happened in 1884, when the city clerk asked for storage for the records of the corporation.[22] Despite this early start, it took until the mid-twentieth century for a proper archival institution to be established. In 1977 The City of Winnipeg Archives and Records Control Branch was established as a one year pilot project through the city clerk's office.[23]

Despite the fact that an archival institution had been established, no real archival activity took place in Winnipeg for two decades. The City of Winnipeg Archives and Records Control Branch did not have a professional archivist working for them until 1994.[24] From this point their program began to grow. In 1997 they had a staff of 7: 3 trained professionals and 4 clerks.[25]

The City of Winnipeg Archives and Records Control Branch is responsible for all of the records from the amalgamated municipalities and the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg. The archives now holds over 20,000 linear feet of records. This includes the records of the civil government from 1874 and the records of all civic departments, tax rolls and assessment records, municipal manuals and other civil populations, the City of Winnipeg Charter, council and election records, and building permits.[26]

University Archives

The major postsecondary institutions in Manitoba have established archival repositories since the 1970's. These archives hold both institutional records and a variety of other records related to the university community or the university's interests.

The University of Manitoba

Historical photo of the university

The University has two archival repositories: The Faculty of Medicine Archives and Archives and Special Collections. These hold the records of the university and university community, in addition to hosting various the archives of various other institutions.

Faculty of Medicine Archives

The first university archives to be founded in Manitoba was the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine Archives in 1974. Their goal is to document the functions and activities of the Faculty of Medicine in areas such as medical education and research and the provision of healthcare in Manitoba. They have holdings from 1883 on, on subjects such as medicine in the First and Second World Wars, public health, epidemics in Manitoba, and the provision of healthcare in Northern communities.[27]

Archives and Special Collections

The University of Manitoba established its Archives and Special Collections in 1978, shortly after the Faculty of Medicine Archives were established, and they are currently run as part of the University of Manitoba library system. The archives has a mandate to acquire, catalogue, preserve, and provide access to university records and special collections that further the educational mandate of the university.[28] Archives and Special Collections hosts The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.


Holdings of interest include:


The University of Manitoba before they moved to their current campus "This Year's Crime - The New University":

Brandon University

In 1975, the Brandon University Rural Resource Archives was founded jointly by Brandon University and Manitoba Pool Elevators. This archives was intended to support research in rural social development problems and collected records relating to the history of Manitoba Pool Elevators, cooperative societies, churches, exhibitions, school districts, and Women's Institutes. The archives was renamed the Brandon University Archives in 1978, and in 1990 to the S.J. McKee Archives after the founder of the school.[29]

The University of Winnipeg

The latest university archives to be founded was the University of Winnipeg Archives in 2001. The University of Winnipeg Archives has a mandate "to document the history of the University of Winnipeg, the local community, as well as aspects of Manitoba history relevant to research at the University of Winnipeg, including social justice and human rights.[30]

The repository holds the records of Manitoba College, Wesley College, and United College (United College was formed by a merger of Manitoba College and Wesley College, and was transformed into the University of Winnipeg in 1967.[31] It also holds records of private organizations and individuals, such as Lloyd Axworthy (University of Winnipeg alumni and former president and vice-chancellor, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs.)

First Nations Archives

Manitoba has several archives dedicated to First Nations records. More can be found out about First Nations Archives here.

Manitoba First Nations Archives

Seeing the lack of a recognized central provincial repository for First Nations records controlled by First Nations people in Manitoba (though provincial and university archives as well local First Nations Cultural Centres often hold First Nations records), in 2013 The Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre (MFNERC) initiated a project to create a Manitoba First Nations Archives.[32] With the creation of a Manitoba First Nations Archives, the MFNERC strives to meet the need to preserve oral traditions, oral histories, traditional knowledge and written archival records by helping Manitoba First Nations communities to store and preserve the "vast amount of archival materials and records" that they have created.[33] MFNERC also hopes to become a satellite campus of the The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.[34]

In terms of staffing, MFNERC has plans to partner with the University of Manitoba Archival Studies M.A. program to train and mentor staff. They also hope to hire current M.A. students to assist setting up the archives. Eventually they plan of hiring a full-time archivist.[35]

They held a roundtable in November 2013 to discuss priorities and issues surrounding the project. Archivists from around the province attended, including Scott Goodine, the Archivist of Manitoba, and Tom Nesmith from the University of Manitoba. The members of the roundtable now form the volunteer advisory board for the archives. The project has also actively been soliciting input from First Nations communities in the province.[36] At present MFNERC is awaiting funding to begin construction of the repository at their Winnipeg Office, and for the training of the archives staff.[34]

The National Research Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

The National Research Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is a collection of records associated with the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission that is hosted by the University of Manitoba. It serves the purpose of preserving the history and legacy of the Indian Residential School System in Canada and the records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).[37] It was created by the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in 2007 with input from representatives from truth and memory projects in 16 countries, former students, academics, archivists, representatives from international, federal, and provincial governments, the media, and commission staff.[38] The centre is scheduled to open in the summer of 2015.


The Research Centre's mandate is to preserve these records to ensure that:

  • Survivors have access to their own history
  • Educators can share the history of the residential school system with their students
  • Researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the schools
  • The public has access to records in order to foster reconciliation and healing
  • The history and legacy of the Indian Residential School System is never forgotten[37]


The Research Centre holds not only historical records but also the records of the TRC and from survivors. The TRC records include footage of public events and hearings, apologies and expressions of reconciliation, TRC reports and publications, and the TRC research collection. From survivors the centre holds survivor statements, art, and physical items. The historical records that the centre holds come from the Government of Canada and the various churches that administered the residential schools. These records are largely digital copies of records held either at Library and Archives Canada or by the churches. These records include records about the creation and administration of the schools, photographs, maps and architectural drawings, student records, school newsletters, cemetery records, and religious records.[39]

Other Archives

Manitoba has a variety of smaller archives around the province, including faith-based archives, community archives, and museum archives.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "An Act Respecting the Library and Museum of the Legislature of Manitoba," quoted in George W. Brown, “Provincial Archives in Canada,” The Canadian Historical Review 15 no.1 (1935), 9.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hudson's Bay Company Archives," HBCA History," accessed March 12, 2015 http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/about/hbca_history.html
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Association for Manitoba Archives, “Archival Institutions,” accessed March 17, 2015, http://nanna.lib.umanitoba.ca/atom/index.php/repository/browse.
  4. ↑ Association for Manitoba Archives, "About Us," accessed March 17, 2015, http://mbarchives.ca/about.
  5. ↑ Association for Manitoba Archives, "Services," accessed March 17, 2015, http://mbarchives.ca/services
  6. ↑ Tom Nesmith, email message to author, April 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ Tom Nesmith, "Learning to Think Archivally: Thesis Research in the Archival Studies Program at the University of Manitoba," In Archivaria 55 (2003), 103.
  8. ↑ Ibid., 104-6.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Archives of Manitoba, “About Us,” accessed March 12, 2015, http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/about.html.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lewis H. Thomas, “Provincial Archives in Canada,” The American Archivist 18 no.4 (1955), 345-6.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Government of Manitoba, "Understanding FIPPA," accessed March 22, 2015, http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/fippa/understanding_fippa.html
  12. ↑ Government of Manitoba, "Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act," accessed March 22, 2015, http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/fippa/index.html
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 George W. Brown, “Provincial Archives in Canada,” The Canadian Historical Review 15 no.1 (1935), 9.
  14. ↑ George W. Brown, “Provincial Archives in Canada,” The Canadian Historical Review 15 no.1 (1935), 10.
  15. ↑ Michael D. Swift, “The Canadian Archival Scene in the 1970’s: Current Developments and Trends,” Archivaria 15 (1982-3), 52-3.
  16. ↑ Deirdre Simmons, “The Archives of the Hudson’s Bay Company,” Archivaria 42 (1996), 70-1.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Hudson's Bay Company Archives, "HBCA Holdings," accessed March 12, 2015 http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/about/hbca_holdings.html
  18. ↑ Hudson's Bay Company Archives, "About HBCA," accessed March 12, 2015 http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/about/hbca.html
  19. ↑ Sarah Hemingway-Conway, “From Dusty Papers to Archival Treasures: Canadian Municipal Archives, the City of Winnipeg Archives, and the records of Winnipeg City Council, 1974-1971,” MA Thesis University of Manitoba (2000), 7, 19.
  20. ↑ Ibid., 3-4, 31.
  21. ↑ Association of Manitoba Archives, "Archival Institutions" accessed March 15, 2015 http://nanna.lib.umanitoba.ca/atom/index.php/repository/browse?limit=10&sort=alphabetic
  22. ↑ City of Winnipeg Archives, City of Winnipeg Archives Since 1874 accessed March 9, 2015 http://www.winnipeg.ca/clerks/pdfs/Archives1874Brochure.pdf, 1.
  23. ↑ Hemingway-Conway, 29-31.
  24. ↑ Ibid., 29.
  25. ↑ Ibid., 48.
  26. ↑ City of Winnipeg Archives, City of Winnipeg Archives Since 1874, 1-2.
  27. ↑ Faculty of Medicine Archives, "Mission and Mandate," accessed March 22, 2015 http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/health/archives/quickfacts.html
  28. ↑ University of Manitoba Archives and Special Collections, "Mission and Mandate," Accessed March 19, 2015 http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/archives/mandate.html
  29. ↑ S.J. McKee Archives, "History of the Archives," Accessed March 19, 2015 https://www.brandonu.ca/archives/history/
  30. ↑ University of Winnipeg Archives, "About Us," accessed March 18, 2015 http://archives.uwinnipeg.ca/about-us.html
  31. ↑ Wikipedia, "University of Winnipeg," accessed March 25, 2015 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Winnipeg
  32. ↑ Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre, "Manitoba First Nations Concept Paper", 1
  33. ↑ Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre, "Manitoba First Nations Concept Paper", 3.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Andy Thomas(MFNERC Research Specialist) in discussion with the author, March 31, 2015.
  35. ↑ Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre, "Manitoba First Nations Concept Paper", 5.
  36. ↑ Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre, "Creating a Manitoba First Nations Archives: Next Steps," accessed on March 22, 2015 http://www.mfnerc.org/newsletter/creating-a-manitoba-first-nations-archives-next-steps/
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 The National Research Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, "Mandate," accessed March 25, 2015 http://umanitoba.ca/centres/nctr/mandate.html
  38. ↑ Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Interim Report (2012), accessed on March 25, 2015 http://www.myrobust.com/websites/trcinstitution/File/Interim%20report%20English%20electronic.pdf, 17-18.
  39. ↑ The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, "About the Collection," accessed March 25, 2015 http://umanitoba.ca/centres/nctr/collection.html
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