5.4 Indigeneity

Ensuring the accuracy and appropriateness of description across cultural difference is a priority within UTARMS’ approach. As a colonial institution with a workforce predominately made up of settlers, we carry a pronounced responsibility to understand how Indigenous histories are bound to our own and to centre Indigenous experience in the archives.

To provide recommendations and guidance for UTARMS, we have consulted resources focused on Indigenous individuals and groups living on Turtle Island1. While some of the recommendations are broad and could be applied to all groups and users, we want to recognize that this isn’t intended to represent all Indigenous communities globally. These recommendations apply both to records received from Indigenous individuals and communities, as well as content that documents Indigenous individuals and communities.

Additional resources:

Indigenous Peoples: A Guide to Terminology 

UBC Indigenous Foundations. “Terminology.” https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/terminology/#firstnations.

Chelsea Vowel, Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit Issues in Canada. Winnipeg: HighWater Press, 2016.

Gregory Younging, Elements of Indigenous Style: A Guide for Writing by and About Indigenous Peoples. Edmonton, Alberta: Brush Education, 2018.

Endnotes

  1. Turtle Island is the name for North America used by Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, including the Anishnaabe and Haudenosaunee, whose lands the University of Toronto occupy. ↩