Activating Indigenous photographic history at Deyohahá:ge: 

As Indigenous histories have been systematically erased, many First Nations’ analog records remain uncatalogued and inaccessible. These physical artifacts, including important films and photographs, are particularly at-risk for degradation and loss. 

Given that archives hold the evidence of history and that the histories we know are the histories available to us, the Faculty of Information’s GLAM Incubator is proud to collaborate with Deyohahá:ge: Indigenous Knowledge Centre at Six Nations Polytechnic on its Six Nations of the Grand River Digitization Photo Project, which works to make its archive both accessible and searchable. 

The project develops Indigenous approaches to digitizing community-held materials that hold personal and cultural significance alongside oral narratives from community members. It makes these digital artifacts available through a database of community-centered metadata. In addition, this project provides workshops to prolong the lifespan of photographic film, historic photographs, audio recordings, and other media. Ultimately, the project supports cultural revitalization, education, and sovereignty while safeguarding Six Nations history to ensure its accessibility and continuity.

 The GLAM Incubator, a research and support hub that connects galleries, libraries, archives, and museums with industry partners, researchers, and students, has provided funding, equipment, research and professional expertise, administrative assistance, and event facilitation. Professor Cara Krmpotich, who teaches in the Faculty of Information’s Museum Studies program, is also part of the collaboration.

“On the surface, it can seem easy to create or run a community archive,” says Krmpotich. “But it’s never the case that “if you build something, people will come.”  

Community archives need to be built with not just intention but multiple intentions, Krmpotich says. Intentional access, intentional order and arrangement, intentional values, and an intention for long-term care and stewardship all matter. And in each of these intentions, there’s opportunity to express cultural beliefs and priorities. Community archives are never a matter of reproducing someone else’s best practice, said Krmpotich. “They require thought and care to build something that contributes in positive, constructive and sustainable ways to their community.” 

Using equipment provided by the GLAM Incubator, Deyohahá:ge: will digitize community photographs and generate metadata. This will create a centralized archive of Indigenous visual history to make Indigenous history more accessible. “It’s a good way to educate people in our community about the importance of preserving film,” says project lead, Stanley Henry of Six Nations Polytechnic. “It matters to us because if we’re not careful we jeopardize losing our past. This is our bridge to our past.” 

Once the photographs have been made accessible, Deyohahá:ge: will organize a series of engagement activities and workshops. Community members will learn about contemporary technology for best archival practices and the preservation of Indigenous artifacts, including undeveloped film, physical objects, oral histories, and sound recordings. Deyohahá:ge: also plans to present their archival findings and educational programs to the greater community at conferences, such as the Association of Tribal archives, Libraries and Museums (ATALM). 

The Six Nations of the Grand River Digitization Photo Project emphasizes the significance of Indigenous sovereignty over cultural artifacts and recordings. Indigenous peoples across several territories and regions are documenting their histories by acquiring archived materials to answer two vital questions, “What happened?” and “How are things today a result of historical events?” 

Museums, organizations, and institutions have embarked on reconciliation efforts in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, 67 to 70. These Calls to Action request that archives and museums revise their policies, craft new policies that align with the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples, and collaborate with Indigenous Peoples across Canada. 

Six Nations Polytechnic is a leader in Indigenizing archiving practices and aligns itself with Indigenous resurgence practices of “returning to ourselves”. The GLAM Incubator recognizes the importance of supporting institutions that respond to these Calls to Action and is committed to providing support to projects that redress extractive practices and the harm to Indigenous people. 

“Six Nations Polytechnic and Deyohaha:ge have been doing important community-based cultural work and research for a long time. They’ve been a place where Haudenosaunee research, thinking and teaching can thrive,” says Krmpotich. “The partnership with the GLAM Incubator presents an opportunity to think deeply and plan for a community archive that will continue to support Six Nations’ interests and desires for locally-led knowledge production, reclamation and activation.”