Outdated, hurtful historical language now comes with a warning at Manitoba archival institutions – CBC News
Jan 03, 2024
‘It’s not a good history, it’s not a pretty history, but this is our history …’
Archival organizations guard the historical record, protecting documents that detail the path society has travelled, but what happens when that content is rife with outdated terms and distasteful labels damaging to Indigenous people?
How do they move forward in a time of reconciliation when their duty is to preserve that past and make it publicly available?
With respect and collaboration, says Heather Bidzinski, head of archives and special collections at the University of Manitoba and chair of the Association for Manitoba Archives, which represents more than 50 archival repositories and associated organizations.
“No matter where you go, archives are going to carry the narrative of the dominant voice. In North America it’s that of the colonizers, so the voices and the perspective you’re going to hear are going to be those of the dominant narrative,” she said.
