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For National Aboriginal Day, CFLA-FCAB Acting on Recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee Report

Jun 21, 2017

This National Aboriginal Day, the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA-FCAB) is acting on recommendations of the CFLA-FCAB Truth and Reconciliation Committee in its recently released report. The Federation is:

• Establishing a CFLA-FCAB Standing Committee on Indigenous Matters
• Creating a digital Indigenous Resources Hub to house and provide access to foundational documents compiled by the CFLA-FCAB Truth and Reconciliation Committee

The Federation continues to promote initiatives to all types of libraries to advance reconciliation by supporting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action and to promote collaboration on these issues across Canadian communities.

“Truth and Reconciliation is one of CFLA-FCAB’s main priorities so it’s especially significant to announce the creation of a CFLA-FCAB Indigenous Matters Committee on National Aboriginal Day and to highlight the endorsement of the CFLA-FCAB Truth & Reconciliation Committee report and recommendations from libraries and library associations across Canada” said Peter Bailey, Chair of CFLA-FCAB. “I encourage other libraries to endorse the report and begin moving toward Reconciliation in Action by implementing the recommendations.”

CFLA-FCAB has created a digital Indigenous Resources Hub on the CFLA-FCAB website with the foundational documents created by the CFLA-FCAB Truth and Reconciliation Committee report, containing:

• a database of best practices for working with Indigenous (First Nation, Métis and Inuit) peoples and communities
• recommendations on how libraries, archives, and cultural memory institutions can implement specific Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action
• examples of best practices of places where implementation is already occurring;
• a contacts database of the library, archival and cultural memory institutions that are working with and for Indigenous people to foster stronger relationships;
• a literature review and recommendations on providing relevant and decolonized access to Indigenous people and for protecting and preserving Indigenous knowledge.

The CFLA-FCAB Truth and Reconciliation Committee report is a snapshot of where we are today. It is by no means comprehensive but rather it is a beginning and a foundation upon which libraries, archives, and cultural memory institutions can build. The numerous “living databases” that were created will reside on the Indigenous Hub and will be continually updated as more information becomes available.

The CFLA-FCAB Truth and Reconciliation Committee was chaired by Camille Callison, member of the Tahltan Nation and Indigenous Services Librarian at the University of Manitoba. The Truth and Reconciliation Report & Recommendations became a reality due to the commitment and dedication of each of the following members to whom we thank for their dedication and service:

Sarah Andrews, Martha Attridge Bufton, Greg Bak, Betty Braaksma, Marc Bragdon, Donna Bourne-Tyson, Patti Bryant, Cynthia Bretell, Anne Carr-Wiggin, Michael Ciccone, Carol Cooley, Diana Davidson, Monique Désormeaux, Michael Dudley, Pierre Gamache, Stan Gardner, Linda Garvin, Ben Gosling, Rosemary Griebel, Helen Halbert, Karen Hoffmann, Katherine Kasirer, Patricia Knockwood, Thom Knutson, Megan Langley, Jessie Loyer, Feather Maracle Luke, John Mutford, Maggie Neilson, Trina O’Brien Leggott, John Pateman, Colette Poitras, Trudy Russo, Pam Ryan, Joëlle Samson, Sonia Smith, Trecia Schell, Paul Takala, Suzanne van den Hoogen, Jenna Walsh, Natalie Wing and Monique Woroniak.

The following organizations and libraries have already endorsed the CFLA-FCAB Truth & Reconciliation Committee report & recommendations! If your library or organization would like to endorse it, please visit http://cfla-fcab.ca/en/indigenous.

• Manitoba Library Association (MLA)               
• British Columbia Library Association (BCLA)
• Northwest Territories Library Association (NWTLA)
• Yellowknife Public Library          
• Ontario Library Association (OLA)
• Library Association of Alberta (LAA)              
• Atlantic Provinces Library Association (APLA)
• Saskatchewan Library Association (SLA)     
• NEOS Library Consortium
• l’Association des bibliothécaires du Québec – Quebec Library Association (ABQLA)
• Toronto Public Library                                         
• Thunder Bay Public Library Board
• Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC) /Conseil des Bibliothèques Urbaines du Canada (CBUC)
• Brandon University Libraries Council             
• British Columbia Library Trustees Association (BCLTA
• Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA)
• National Network of Equitable Library Service (NNELS)
• Northern Lights Library System in Alberta    
• Newfoundland & Labrador Library Association (NLLA)
• Office national du film du Canada/ National Film Board of Canada
• Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians/L’Association Canadienne Des Bibliothécaures Académiques Professionnels (CAPAL/ACAP)
• Provincial and Territorial Public Libraries Council – Conseil provincial et territorial des bibliothèques publiques
• Yukon Library Association (YLA)
• St Albert Public Library