Agreement of Library and Archives Canada and National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to Safeguard Residential School Records

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) announced last week that they have signed an agreement to ensure the preservation of, and public access to, the records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on residential schools:

"LAC will provide the NCTR with digital copies of the TRC’s records, on-site archival advice and technical expertise. NCTR will provide LAC with access to documents from the TRC that have not yet been transferred to LAC. The agreement also establishes areas of collaboration related to special initiatives including public engagement, exhibitions, events, and the ongoing sharing of records that are relevant to the issues of indigenous peoples."

"Both the NCTR and LAC are committed to preserving documents of national importance that bear witness to the Canadian experience. Making the records accessible to residential school survivors, their families, and the public is a key outcome of the agreement."

The NCTR is permanent home for all statements, documents, and other materials gathered by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In 2015, the Commission released its findings after its years-long investigation into the many abuses against Aboriginal children at Church-run Indian Residential Schools in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Centre hosts a massive database of its collections including:

• the materials from the TRC
• testimonials from survivors of the schools
• millions of records from federal departments and from Library and Archives Canada (records detailing how the schools were created and run; school admissions; school histories; administration records; photographs; maps, plans and drawings)
• records from churches that ran the schools (student records; photographs; school newsletters; cemetery records; religious records; administrative records)