Editor’s note: The author would like to give special thanks to Quinton Crow Shoe for his contribution to this post. As well, the banner image above features audio reels at the Provincial Archives of Alberta. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta.
Written by: Mikaela LeBlanc, TRC Archivist Intern
The Provincial Archives of Alberta (PAA) acquires, preserves and makes records available to researchers. These includes government records, which are records created by agencies, boards and commissions as well as departments within the Government of Alberta, and private records, which are records created by individuals, families and organizations. The records come in many formats and can include letters, photographs, drawings, audio recordings, journals, newspapers and maps, among others. Within these records are also a wide variety of materials that were created by and about Indigenous people and communities.
The PAA first released an “Aboriginal Resource Guide” finding aid in 2006, which listed records identified as being about Indigenous communities in Alberta. This guide provided the building blocks for archival research to become more user-friendly when accessing Indigenous related records. The hearings and report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Calls to Action related to archives and the heritage sector identified ways in which the PAA could make improvements in access to records by Indigenous creators and about Indigenous communities. This coincided with the PAA’s move to a new collections management database webpage Access to Memory (AtoM), and saw the release of the Indigenous Resources Guide (IRG) in April 2023. The guide identifies records that relate to Indigenous people and communities in Alberta that are currently in PAA’s holdings.
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