Digital Access and Indigenous Histories: Supporting Self-Determination and Historical Research in Community

You are cordially invited to a free virtual lecture: “Digital Access and Indigenous Histories: Supporting Self-Determination and Historical Research in Community”

In October 2024, Woodland Cultural Centre, an Indigenous-led institution devoted to the preservation and promotion of Hodinohsho:ni languages and cultures, will launch an exhibit which seeks to better understand the pressures and priorities in Six Nations of the Grand River that led to the establishment of an elected band council in 1924. The exhibit, curated by Woodland Cultural Centre guest curator Heather George, connects archival records, oral histories, Indigenous languages and the perspectives of youth to contextualize historical and contemporary debates about who represents the community and what governance should look like in the future.

McMaster University Library’s Division of Archives and Research Collections houses important clues to understanding this time at Six Nations in the papers of A.G. Chisholm, a lawyer who served the community for about 40 years, first working for the Confederacy (traditional governance system) and later the Band Council (elected system). Heather George will discuss the importance of digital access to archival records for the 1924 exhibition, highlighting key finds from the A.G. Chisholm fonds and connecting them to other archival collections globally. She will be joined by McMaster University archivist Gillian Dunks.

This lecture is hosted by McMaster University Library’s Archives Alive program in partnership with Woodland Cultural Centre and McMaster University Alumni.

Register here