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January 2020:

January 28, 2020

Welcome from Scott Goodine, Archivist of Manitoba

I am excited to announce the launch of the Archives of Manitoba’s new initiative, “Your Archives: The Histories We Share.” 

We have been thinking for some time about the anniversaries associated with 2020, Manitoba’s 150th year as a province, the 150th anniversary of the Red River Resistance, and the 350th anniversary of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

In this year, we are asking Manitobans - and anyone who is interested - to build our exhibit.  We are inviting you to choose an archival record from the Archives of Manitoba’s holdings and tell us why it matters.  Maybe you know of a record that has deep significance to your family. Maybe you have found a record that describes a critical moment in history.   Maybe you know of a noteworthy photo in our holdings.  We want to display all of them!  We hope that as the series grows, we will be able to present a diverse set of perspectives that honour the many histories that we share. 

It is important to acknowledge that the Archives of Manitoba is built on Treaty 1 territory and the land on which the archives presently stands, is the traditional territory of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation. The archives holds many records relevant to Indigenous peoples populating the traditional territories, primarily in Manitoba and Canada, but also reaching into other parts of North America and beyond. 

The history of this place that we now call Manitoba didn’t start in 1870 or 1670, but these dates do mark significant dates in our collective histories. By commemorating these anniversaries and embracing the connotations associated with 2020, we are using this year as an opportunity to reflect on the records that the Archives of Manitoba has acquired and preserved from the Manitoba government, Hudson’s Bay Company, and numerous Manitobans, private organizations, and local public bodies that have donated records for long-term preservation.

The holdings of the Archives of Manitoba are a rich resource for the study of the history of Manitoba and its people, as well as the history of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC).  The Archives of Manitoba acquires textual records, photographs, sound and moving images, documentary art, cartographic records and architectural records from the Manitoba government, private individuals and organizations, and from the Hudson’s Bay Company. The Archives of Manitoba belongs to the people and the province, and serves an ever-expanding national and international clientele.

The Archives of Manitoba’s mission is to protect information of fundamental significance to community identities, well-being, and individual and collective self-knowledge. The archives documents the mutual rights and obligations entered into by society and those whom the people choose to govern.

The Archives of Manitoba is a public resource, owned by the people of Manitoba.  We are very pleased to launch this initiative.  We look forward to sharing your submission and to seeing how the exhibit will grow throughout 2020.

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