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Access to information and Privacy We will apply the
Access to Information Act and the
Privacy Act in a way that maximizes access while protecting sensitive and personal information. Further, we will continue to improve and simplify the request for access to information process to add transparency, decrease delays and reduce the administrative burden for clients. | October 2020 update: The ATIP section responsible for processing day school requests (Archival and Operational Records; AOR) has dedicated 75 percent of its resources to responding to formal Privacy Act requests for records pertaining to the day schools class action. In addition, AOR has identified priority requests for land claims research under paragraph 8(2)(k) of the Privacy Act. Additionally, AOR interpreted the Privacy Act to provide community access to redacted records related to the Federal Indian Day School Class Action. This test case will likely inform future interactions with community advocates. As of October 30, 2020, AOR received 1,034 formal requests for day school records; of those, 790 requests are active requests. As of November 5, 2020, AOR has 30 active requests under paragraph 8(2)(k) of the Privacy Act.
April to December 2019
LAC continues to handle requests for sensitive material allowed by the
Access to Information Act and the
Privacy Act. LAC is working on the requests as quickly as possible given the large amount of work for limited numbers of staff.
LAC is also exploring the parameters of the access process around 8(2) k of the
Privacy Act to make the process more efficient by reducing administrative burden for researchers.
Since April 2019, LAC has received 41 requests for information related to Indigenous claims. Of those requests, 33 have been handled, and the rest are under way.
| Ongoing
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Residential school information In collaboration with the
NCTR, we will provide access to all known residential school information held in the LAC collection while protecting personal information. Furthermore, we will improve the ability to discover and access residential school information. | October 2020 update: LAC continued to share digital records related to residential schools with other memory and cultural institutions, while continuing to protect personal and sensitive information. LAC’s ongoing investment to make public access tools such as Collection Search more user-friendly supports improved access to the collection overall, particularly for non-professional researchers.
April to December 2019
Since 2016, LAC and the NCTR have digitized and shared the Truth and Reconciliation Commission records, ensuring that both institutions preserve and provide access to its legacy. In addition, LAC has shared related digital records and indexes with the NCTR and the Residential School History and Dialogue Centre (RSHDC) at the University of British Columbia. These records include the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples database containing thousands of pages of public hearing transcripts, research reports, and submissions.
LAC has also digitized and shared audiovisual recordings of the Commission proceedings with the NCTR and the RSHDC.
LAC will continue to share digital records related to residential schools with these and other memory and cultural institutions, while continuing to protect personal and sensitive information.
| Ongoing
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Terminology We will adapt the words we use to describe LAC collections related to First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation to enhance access and to ensure a culturally appropriate and respectful approach. | October 2020 update: A publicly available version of LAC’s Procedures for Writing Culturally Sensitive Titles for Descriptions of Indigenous Materials, titled Writing titles for descriptions of Indigenous-related archival materials, was posted on LAC’s website in April 2020. In January 2020, LAC posted a Historical Language Advisory on its website to address the terminology in its records and search tools. Members of the public can access this advisory from the search results in Collection Search. Regarding descriptions of Indigenous books, LAC has developed a list of potential changes to the Canadian Subject Headings; some terms have been updated and are live in our library system. We continue to identify changes and upload them in consultation with Indigenous librarians and subject specialists.
April to December 2019
Descriptions of Indigenous books: LAC has developed lists of potential changes and additions to the Canadian Subject Headings. LAC is still consulting with Indigenous librarians and subject specialists.
Descriptions of Indigenous archival material: LAC has developed and shared
Procedures for Writing Culturally Sensitive Titles for Descriptions of Indigenous Materials, to deal with offensive terms found in the descriptions in LAC’s collection. LAC is also developing a message to notify users of LAC’s collection search tool that there is outdated or offensive language in the descriptions.
| Ongoing
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Access to documentary evidence We will continue to facilitate access to documentary evidence for legal processes (e.g., land claims) and quasi-legal processes (e.g., commissions, inquiries) in a way that is balanced and responsive. | October 2020 update: LAC closed its public rooms across Canada on March 13, 2020, in response to COVID-19. However, LAC has continued to help researchers finding documents through various channels of communication: web, phone, email and videoconferencing. In Ottawa, reference staff have answered 569 Indigenous-related written questions (14 percent of all written requests). Of these, 37 were about residential schools. In addition, 51 reference appointments were about Indigenous content (24 percent of all appointments with archivists). Staff in our Vancouver and Winnipeg offices have responded to 1,136 Indigenous-related questions (90 percent of all requests), hosted 116 visits to consult records, and copied 15,239 pages. The Reference Services Division continues to support client queries in response to the Federal Indian Day School Class Action. For January and February, staff responded to 739 written queries and 995 phone calls. In March, centralization of requests in ATIP and the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decrease; from March to September, Reference Services answered 118 written queries and 474 phone calls. Reference Services has also created help web pages to better support clients: How to search for Indian Day school records and How to submit a formal access request for Indian Day school records. A tool to facilitate the finding of evidence was also finalized. This extraction and compilation of thousands of files related to day schools enables LAC’s staff to refer directly to the tool to answer privacy requests, rather than having to conduct research for each individual. This tool is now used by all archivists supporting ATIP’s work in processing day school privacy requests.
April to December 2019
LAC continues to help researchers find documents through its channels of communications: web, phone, email, Skype, and in person, and from Ottawa, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Halifax. Since April 1, 2019, dedicated experts in the National Capital Region have answered 402 written Indigenous-related questions, about 14% of all written requests received. About 20% of all appointments with archivists are related to Indigenous documentary heritage.
Since April 1, 2019, staff in LAC’s Vancouver and Winnipeg offices have responded to 555 Indigenous-related questions (90% of all questions), hosted 181 visits to consult records, and copied 29,700 pages.
Since May 2019, LAC has helped users find the digital records they needed for the Federal Indian Day School Class Action, and is creating an information page about finding these records. LAC is considering writing procedures on how to collaborate internally and externally.
Three other InfoPages will soon be created about Indian Affairs records, the Indigenous Published Reference Collection, and the Indigenous Published Genealogy Collection.
LAC regularly updates the webpage on Indigenous genealogy. A blog post on enfranchisement of First Nations peoples was published in April 2019.
| Ongoing
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Reference services and service spaces We will establish a plan and implement changes to our reference services and service spaces to be more responsive to the needs individually and collectively expressed by First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation. We will do so in consultation with the Indigenous Advisory Circle and Indigenous researchers at LAC. | October 2020 update: Since 2018–2019, all employees in Reference Services have a mandatory training objective to improve their knowledge of indigenous cultures and history. Because of the closing of LAC’s public rooms, we have worked on the transformation of our tours and workshops into virtual activities. We have created videos, webinars and tools to introduce various aspects of research at LAC, including a video on how to search Indigenous-related material in the LAC collection. LAC Vancouver staff have been collaborating with the Vancouver Public Library, Aboriginal Life in Vancouver Enhancement, and other community groups to host a weekly Indigenous genealogy workshop called Connection to Kith and Kin. While in-person sessions are currently on hold, an online version is under development for launch in November 2020. This workshop was repurposed as a webinar as part of the Royal BC Museum’s RBCM@home lecture series. This workshop will also be delivered at Ottawa Public Library.
April to December 2019
LAC continues to listen to individuals and communities in order to improve services.
Some of the LAC reference team answer questions about Indigenous matters. They create solutions by consulting with clients, stakeholders, and other LAC staff.
Reference Services staff are improving their awareness and knowledge. They attended these lectures in 2019:
- Conversation with an Indigenous Claims Researcher (April 23)
- Meet Indigenous Colleagues at LAC (May 24)
- Métis Scrip Records (May 28)
- Researching Métis Family History (June 17)
- Indigenous Vocabulary and Client Interaction (July 2)
Staff at LAC also welcomed colleagues from Parks Canada to discuss access to records related to residential schools for commemoration (July 12).
LAC Vancouver staff have been working with the Vancouver Public Library, Aboriginal Life in Vancouver Enhancement, and other community groups to develop an Indigenous genealogy program. The program will integrate elements of Indigenous cultural practices and help individuals with their ancestry research.
| Ongoing
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Sharing archival records and research results We will share LAC archival records and research results with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation communities and organizations. We will also examine Indigenous-led access management of some LAC collections that relate to specific peoples or communities, and of records created from Indigenous knowledge. | October 2020 update: LAC continues to discuss ways that Indigenous-led access management could be applied to records in LAC holdings, and how a process of consultation might be applied to these records on a case-by-case basis.
April to December 2019
We will share LAC archival records and research results with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation communities and organizations. We will also examine Indigenous-led access management of some LAC collections that relate to specific peoples or communities, and of records created from Indigenous knowledge.
| In motion
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Enhanced access to digitized collections As part of LAC's new We Are Here, Sharing Stories initiative, we will digitize collections related to Indigenous cultures and languages, create user-friendly finding aids, and develop online content in order to highlight these documents and enhance access to them. | October 2020 update: As of October 2020, the We Are Here: Sharing Stories initiative has digitized 586,512 images, documents and maps in the LAC collection, including the following: - selection of Métis river lot maps, including metro areas, Prairie provinces and Manitoba parishes
- Métis Scrip registers, ledgers and land assignments from the Department of Interior material
- R.F. Waugh photographic collection, including six albums depicting Anishinaabe, Wiikwemkoong First Nation, Obishikokaang (Lac Seul First Nation), Haudenosaunee communities, and Nunatsiavummiut and Innu from Labrador
- various language and grammar publications including Ojibwe, Cree, Mi’kmaq and Blackfoot
- Alex Jerry Saley fonds, primarily photographs of settlements, employees, families and operations located along the Distant Early Warning Line around 1956
To make these collections easier to find, we continue to create thematic codes within the system for all newly digitized Indigenous material, which will enable LAC to make efficient ways to find the material through our public-facing interface in the future.
April to December 2019
As of December 2019, the We Are Here: Sharing Stories program had digitized over 504,586 images, documents and maps in the LAC collection, including the following:
- Métis scrip and related documents from the Department of the Interior
- photos from the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in the 1990s
- photos from the former Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
- maps such as the “Indian Land Sales Maps” showing reserve lands across Canada, and Métis River lot maps from western Canada
Digitized material is easier to find with updated archival descriptions, including culturally relevant and accurate metadata.
| Ongoing
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Building archival and library capacity LAC will assist in building archival and library capacity in First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation communities and will also provide preservation storage to communities who do not yet have such capacity, without transferring ownership to LAC. We will also collaborate with First Nations, Inuit and the Métis Nation to ensure that non-governmental archival records from their communities are preserved according to their preferences, whether at LAC or locally. | October 2020 update: LAC is working with six individuals and organizations to provide digital deposit storage as part of Listen, Hear Our Voices digitization services.
April to December 2019
Work began in December 2019. LAC is updating its Analog Collection Storage Strategy to include dedicated spaces within its portfolio for Indigenous material on deposit at LAC. In order to follow the principles of self-determination and co-development, further consultation and discussions with Indigenous communities will be required to assess such things as:
- Types of storage space required
- Expected level of use by Indigenous communities
- Identification and resolution of barriers to trust in the deposit program
- Joint drafting with Indigenous communities of a template transfer agreement, clearly defining such terms as “care,” “custody,” “ownership,” the access mechanisms, etc.
| In motion
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Handling and caring for sensitive material LAC will prioritize the preferences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation communities when handling and caring for sensitive material created by or about their respective communities. | October 2020 update: LAC continues to work with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami to establish access protocols that reflect their preferences and requirements with regard to ownership and control of records identified as being of importance to Inuit.
April to December 2019
LAC is working with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) to organize records that ITK have identified as being of value for Inuit in order to maximize Inuit access, ownership, and control over these records. LAC will also follow the National Inuit Strategy on Research and the associated Implementation Plan.
| Ongoing
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