Jade Guan, Archivist & Research Associate Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council Treaty Aboriginal Rights Research Program Archives Initiatives: Best Records Management Practices with Research Records

About LSLIRC-TARR Formed in 1996 – Servicing 7 Nations in northern Alberta & Slave Lake area Funding Cuts:  FY 10%  FY36% Total funding cuts between = 57%

Brainstorming Question: Can we expand to tap into alternative funding in order to offset costs of running the program so more Claims funding can go straight into Specific Claims research? Answer: Yes! Develop the Archives

The Archives  Initially storage for completed claims research records  Archives grew to include:  Elder interviews  Traditional land use records  District treaty paylists  Mandate evolved:  Archive of the TARR program  Act as a cultural resource centre for client Nations  Preserve collective memory of Treaty 8 First Nations

Step 1: Institutional Membership Goal: Be recognized as an institutional member of the Archives Society of Alberta (ASA) Policy documentation requiring creation or amending:  Archives program mandate  Access and circulation policy  Archival procedure manual  Access and circulation policy  Reproduction and copyright policies Other requirements:  Accredited Archivist employed  Open to the public at least 2 days a week Biggest area of conflict = Access

Step 2: Apply for Grants Archives Society of Alberta: Access to Holdings Purpose: To make a record collection more accessible to the public We chose to archive the Indian Association of Alberta – Treaty Aboriginal Rights Research records.  50 boxes of materials  Consists of a wealth historical resources related to Specific Claims End Project: We will provide an intellectual arrangement for the records, and then create a descriptive finding aid to be made available online.

Step 2: Apply for Grants Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA): Community Investment Program Purpose: “Enhance the internet experience of Canadians” Our Project: LSLIRC-TARR Program Research and Resource Portal 3 Goals: 1) Establish a digital presence where clients can contact us 2) Provide online access to library catalogue and archival collection 3) Interpretation/Education Centre for the history of Treaty 8 Final Product: We chose to archive the Indian Association of Alberta – Treaty Aboriginal Rights Research records.  50 boxes of materials  Consists of a wealth historical resources related to Specific Claims End Project: We will provide an intellectual arrangement for the records, and then create a descriptive finding aid to be made available online.

How Does This Benefit Specific Claims?  Increase efficiency in researching through Archives for  Digital initiatives = faster identification and retrieval of relevant records  Processing new collections = identifying more historical resources useful for claims work  Reduces duplication of requests to external archival institutions  Records used in a claim can be quickly retrieved at any point of the Specific Claims process after initial submission to the SCB  Ex. For Minimum Standard needs, questioning, Tribunal support

Our Records Management Practices for Research Records  Always file according to the creator  Ex. By organization, department, individual  Keep files in original order  Provides insight into creator, and maintains the context of the relationship between the individual records  Acquire records by full file  Avoid pulling individual documents out  Maintains the context of the issues discussed in the time of a specific grievance  Preserves original order  Keep good metadata – “data about data”  Information describing a record – Ex. date, creator, file type  Maintains the context of how the records were created, where they were acquired from, and for what project purpose

Our Records Management Practices for Research Records

Our Records Management Practices for Research Records Thank you! Questions?