Truth and Reconciliation Web Archive Launched

July 21, 2017

The University of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), and Library and Archives Canada (LAC) wish to collectively launch the Truth and Reconciliation Web Archive, a collection of websites documenting the work of and responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC).

Since the 1990s a groundswell of popular support has begun to recognize settler society’s attempted erasure of Indigenous communities. One result of this human rights based movement is institutions of accountability. Following the example of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) and the demands of Indigenous leaders, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA), which launched in 2007, outlined the creation and mandate of the TRC, which began its work in 2008. For six years the TRC documented one of the most vicious components of settler society’s colonial legacy of Indigenous erasure: the residential school programme. To trace the popular response to the TRC investigations, the University of Winnipeg, in collaboration with the University of Manitoba, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, and Library and Archives Canada has initiated a project to capture and record websites relating to the work of the TRC and responses to its Calls to Action.

Under the direction of the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba, Jasmin Geling, a recent University of Winnipeg graduate, was hired to archive websites related to the TRC within the jurisdiction of Manitoba. Staff at LAC similarly archived websites of a national scope. These sites have been captured, described, and curated using the Internet Archive’s Archive-It service.

This is a pilot project that envisions national participation. The NCTR will provide a hub to facilitate access to all current and future jurisdictions of the web archive. If you wish to have your organization’s website archived as a part of this project, please contact the NCTR at nctrrecords@umanitoba.ca, or call the main line at 204-474-6069.

• Library and Archives Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Web Archive
• The University of Winnipeg’s Truth and Reconciliation web collection
• The University of Manitoba’s Truth and Reconciliation web collection

The institutions gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of Manitoba Tourism, Culture, Heritage, Sport and Consumer Protection, and the Government of Canada in the creation of this Collection.

As the TRC has observed, “reconciliation is an ongoing process of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships at all levels of Canadian society”. We safeguard and value our human rights in these projects; they embody and preserve the recognition of our collective dignity.