Indigenous silences in the Archives & Special Collections (Oct 1/24)
This Mi’kmaw History Month, it’s important to acknowledge the gaps in our collections in Archives & Special Collections related to Indigenous peoples. In our collections, there are some perspectives that are overrepresented due to the history of library and archival collecting practices. Other groups are underrepresented, including perspectives on Indigeneity, Blackness, women, and diverse expressions of gender and sexuality.
Indigenous communities have often been documented by settler institutions, rather than being represented as records creators to tell their own stories. This means that material related to Indigenous peoples, where it exists in Acadia’s Archives & Special Collections, is mostly an outsider perspective. These materials often showcase perspectives that misrepresent Mi’kmaw people and contain historical views that are harmful and offensive. It's important that we preserve this history and documentation to hold our institutions accountable, and make sure that records related to residential schools, missionaries, and other forms of evidence are available as part of the Truth and Reconciliation process.
The gaps and silences in our collection speak volumes about the values and priorities of those in power throughout history in this region. In the coming months, we will create a research guide that surfaces some of the connections between our collections and Mik’maw history. In the future, we hope to collaborate with Indigenous communities to build collections that represent the joys, humanity, and resilience of the Mik’maq.
While written historical documentation is one way to understand Mik’maw history, it’s important that the voices of Mik’maw people are represented in telling their own stories. Mik’maw history can be found through the stories of Elders, the place names around us, and through First Voices books and articles.
Ciaran Purdome is a settler originally from the Midwestern United States and is the Digital Archivist at Acadia.