ADURA
Registry and Archives
- Jide Afolabi
“Remember that time when …”
Whatever the “when” relates to, chances are if a friend asked you that question, you’d remember.
You have a memory. It is both obvious and overlooked, but it helps you function - it helps you understand the past and prepare for the future, it helps you know what to avoid and what to embrace. The lessons of the past are learned in order to avoid repeating mistakes in the present and in the future.
Whatever the “when” relates to, chances are if a friend asked you that question, you’d remember.
You have a memory. It is both obvious and overlooked, but it helps you function - it helps you understand the past and prepare for the future, it helps you know what to avoid and what to embrace. The lessons of the past are learned in order to avoid repeating mistakes in the present and in the future.
Communities need memories too, and so do nations, and for the very same reasons. So, it may be easily overlooked, and it may seem like a small, “side” matter, but the provisions of the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement - sections 4.8 and 5.8 - providing for the creation of formal registries are some of the most important.
More than just a “registry of laws”, the provisions of the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement, and the accompanying funding provided through the Anishinabek Nation Fiscal Agreement, open the door to a comprehensive system of “registries and archives”.
That is, a place for keeping, securing, and referring to the “memory” of the community and of the nation.
Broadly conceived, that would mean a place to preserve not just laws, decisions, and policies, but also stories and heritage - pictures, family and community heirlooms, accounts of significant occurrences, genealogies, elder teachings, and so on.
Also, a place future generations can look to in order to understand the “past” that is today, without the need to solely rely on the “official” accounts in Canada’s own archives. A place that promotes the nationhood of Anishinabek First Nations.
That is, a place for keeping, securing, and referring to the “memory” of the community and of the nation.
Broadly conceived, that would mean a place to preserve not just laws, decisions, and policies, but also stories and heritage - pictures, family and community heirlooms, accounts of significant occurrences, genealogies, elder teachings, and so on.
Also, a place future generations can look to in order to understand the “past” that is today, without the need to solely rely on the “official” accounts in Canada’s own archives. A place that promotes the nationhood of Anishinabek First Nations.
In the context of the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement, a key matter up for consideration as First Nations implement a registry and archives system concerns the potential role of the new Anishinabek Nation.
While provision 5.8 of the agreement stipulates that First Nations provide a copy of their laws to the Anishinabek Nation for inclusion in a repository of laws, consideration should be given to additionally tasking the Anishinabek Nation with archival responsibilities.
Archives are a place for the retention of significant national items, other than or in addition to official documents like laws. To transfer archival responsibilities to the Anishinabek Nation would be to ensure a single archive exists for Anishinabek First Nations, and that it can be maintained at no cost to them.
While provision 5.8 of the agreement stipulates that First Nations provide a copy of their laws to the Anishinabek Nation for inclusion in a repository of laws, consideration should be given to additionally tasking the Anishinabek Nation with archival responsibilities.
Archives are a place for the retention of significant national items, other than or in addition to official documents like laws. To transfer archival responsibilities to the Anishinabek Nation would be to ensure a single archive exists for Anishinabek First Nations, and that it can be maintained at no cost to them.
Beyond the above consideration, there are ultimately four decision areas for First Nations to address as they implement a registry and archives system:
- Passing Legislation
- Designating Duties
- Accessibility Measures
- Operational Considerations
1. Passing Legislation
This first step concerns the formal passage of a law on registry and archival functions, followed by the establishment of the registry and archives as prescribed by that law.
The law would build-in criteria to help periodically assess whether expectations are being met.
The law would build-in criteria to help periodically assess whether expectations are being met.
Since some archived items may be contributed from private sources, the law would also clearly set out how it would interact with any FIrst Nation law on freedom of information and privacy.
2. Designating Duties
To manage the potentially extensive duties related to the maintenance of a registry, with or without an archive, a First Nation would ideally task a new officer or an existing lead executive with related responsibilities.
This individual may require a staff to assist in organizing documents, creating appropriate storage conventions, and developing access procedures.
This individual may require a staff to assist in organizing documents, creating appropriate storage conventions, and developing access procedures.
It is key that the administrative individual or individuals be allowed the powers to enable them to access and broadly deal with information and artifacts. This would include legal protections preventing them from being compelled to testify in judicial or quasi–judicial hearings.
3. Accessibility Measures
It is somewhat obvious that a “standard” is developing, pursuant to which the laws, decisions, and policies within a registry are accessible online.
Typically, this easy-access solution would be in addition to the paper, “official” version of those documents. In implementing such a solution, some thought would need to be given to a process to ensure the paper and online versions are always identical and equally up to date.
Further, in considering archives - which again would be a place for stories and heritage - the same approach could be taken. For example, pictures of archived objects can be placed online, and the same can be done for recorded elder teachings.
Typically, this easy-access solution would be in addition to the paper, “official” version of those documents. In implementing such a solution, some thought would need to be given to a process to ensure the paper and online versions are always identical and equally up to date.
Further, in considering archives - which again would be a place for stories and heritage - the same approach could be taken. For example, pictures of archived objects can be placed online, and the same can be done for recorded elder teachings.
An additional accessibility measure for First Nations to consider would be plain language summaries as well as explanatory pamphlets, to compliment the laws, decisions, and policies made available online.
4. Operational Considerations
To further the accessibility measures outlined above, it is also important that access procedures be clearly set out: when can citizens and members of the public access documents? In what forms can they access them?
Furthermore, to maintain the longevity of the registry and its materials, it is good practice to establish a single designated site for storage, and put measures in place for the mitigation of the risks that facility might face. That would include security measures, protections from damage or destruction, organizational software or filing systems, file naming conventions, and so on.