UNews - Archivist

Oral History Project brings the past to life

trevor.kenney — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 22:38:48 +0000

The late English writer Rudyard Kipling once reflected, “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students Karissa Patton (BA ’13) and Maria Livingston would likely agree with that observation.

Karissa Patton, left, and Maria Livingston are helping to bring the past to life through the Oral History Project.

Last summer, Patton, who is now pursuing a master’s degree in history, and Livingston, a third-year Native American Studies student, worked together on the Oral History Project, a story-gathering initiative supported by the U of L Art Gallery, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives and Centre for Oral History and Tradition.

Today, Livingston continues to be involved in the project, which is aimed at helping people to enhance their understanding of artist Nicholas de Grandmaison (1892-1978) and his unique connections to First Nations communities. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has a vast collection of de Grandmaison artwork and artifacts, including 67 original pastel portraits that were donated to the art gallery by BMO Financial Group earlier this year along with funding to support research related to the art gift.

A cultural icon of southern Alberta and one of the most important portraitists of First Nations people, de Grandmaison was a nomadic painter who often stayed with ranchers, farmers and Aboriginal families for several days at a time while he painted their portraits. His work not only documented the history of First Nations people in Canada, but was also unmatched in its ability to capture the unique personalities of those who sat for portraits.

With guidance from U of L archivist Mike Perry and Lisa Doolittle of the Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts, Patton and Livingston contacted members of the Kainai, Siksika and Piikani First Nations, searching for – and interviewing – people who may have had contact either with de Grandmaison or any of the subjects featured in his paintings.

“Collecting individual narratives is important because people aren’t writing things down as much as they once did. Also, the stories that have been included in historical archives in the past have often just been those of famous people and politicians,” says Patton.

To ensure the full range of stories compiled in the oral history project are shared for years to come, Livingston is now working on an educational program and online resource for high school students and middle school students, respectively. The initiatives are a way of giving back to First Nations communities and youth, says Livingston, who is of Cree heritage.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to work on this project,” she says. “Along with hearing great storytelling, I’ve learned more about First Nations culture and history, and that complements what I’ve been learning in school.”

Oral History Project appeals for contributions

trevor.kenney — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:37:50 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Gallery and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives is calling on Albertans to assist in a historical project in support of their vast Nicholas de Grandmaison collection of artworks and artifacts.

A cultural icon of southern Alberta, artist Nicholas de Grandmaison (1892-1978) captured the history of the region and its First Nations people in an entirely distinctive and personal manner.

As an itinerant painter, de Grandmaison often stayed with ranchers, farmers and Aboriginal families for several days at a time while he painted their portraits. His unique lifestyle, character and attitude having left a plethora of interesting experiences that augment the context of his paintings.

It is these stories that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Gallery and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives are looking to tell through an Oral History Project that will complement the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's de Grandmaison collection of artworks and artifacts. They are currently seeking contributions from the Alberta community.

"By compiling an oral history, we really want to give the de Grandmaison collection another layer of meaning," says Karissa Patton (BA '13), a recent U of L graduate who is returning for graduate studies this fall and who is working with third-year Native American Studies student Maria Livingston on compiling the oral history pieces.

"The collection is remarkable, but in some instances we might only have the name of the person featured in the painting, and in others, we have no information at all. When you look at how the subjects are depicted, you can see that there is a story there that is just waiting to be told."

Working under the guidance of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archivist Mike Perry and Lisa Doolittle of the Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts, Patton and Livingston have contacted various members of the Kainai, Siksika and Piikani First Nations, searching for those people who may have had contact either with de Grandmaison or any of the subjects featured in his paintings.

"It doesn't have to be a story from someone who was actually painted, it can be anything from that era that adds to the story of
de Grandmaison's visits and work," says Patton. "Even the smallest of recollections help to create a larger narrative."

BMO Financial Group recently donated 67 original de Grandmaison pastel portraits to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's already comprehensive collection of artworks and artifacts. They have been featured in the
U of L Art Gallery exhibition Nicholas de Grandmaison: Recent Acquisitions, which concludes Thursday, June 27. On Tuesday, June 25, a Closing Reception and Hoop Dance Performance will be held at 7 p.m. in the U of L Art Gallery.

"It's been wonderful to be able to present these de Grandmaison works to the public," says Director/Curator of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Dr. Josephine Mills. "The BMO donation has significantly enhanced our collection and really inspired us to search for ways in which we can encourage new work from First Nations artists. I think this Oral History Project is an excellent way to give even more context to these works and bring our Alberta history to life."

For those looking to take part in the project, access the following website for more information: http://www.uleth.ca/artgallery/?page_id=5452, call 403-380-1868 or e-mail degrandmaisonstories@uleth.ca

Historical timeline launched

trevor.kenney — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:51:35 +0000

By MIKE PERRY

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives is pleased to announce the launch of the new U of L historical timeline, available through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library (www.uleth.ca/lib) and archives home (www.uleth.ca/lib/archives) pages.

The creation of the new timeline was a group effort, with a prominent role played by a couple of current students and a U of L alumnus, all currently working in the library. The project began about a year ago with new media student Marcel Jepson, who was working as a student web application developer, and I sitting down to discuss what could be developed. When we decided on what we wanted, Jepson got to work building and developing the platform.

While he did most of the work on this website, he was expertly assisted by Shem Simmons and Bryson Duda. Simmons, a graduate of the new media program who is currently working as a multimedia artist in the library's information systems department, styled and created the graphics for the timeline. Duda, a system support specialist in the library, assisted with writing the computer code that makes the timeline more interactive and searchable.

While the website was being developed, second-year computer science student Krysti Bouttell-Bonnar (a student assistant in the library) helped research the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's history for suitable content. Bouttell-Bonnar spent many hours combing through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's publications to find interesting highlights to add to the timeline.

Thanks to these four talented people, in particular, and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library, in general, for their contributions to this project.

The timeline is an ongoing project, so if you have any suggestions for content or improvements please contact mike.perry@uleth.ca in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives.

The timeline is very dynamic and allows users the ability to search the digital copies of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ papers and the Meliorist from the webpage. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Calendars from 1967 to 1995 (the most recent are already completed) have also been digitized and will be uploaded to the timeline shortly.

Mike Perry is the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Archivist

This story first appeared in the November 2012 issue of the Legend. To view the full issue online, follow this link.

Oral history project brings past to life

trevor.kenney — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:02:45 +0000

By MIKE PERRY

In January 2009, Dr. James Tagg, Professor Emeritus of the history department, initiated a project to conduct, collect, digitize and make accessible interviews with individuals intimately connected with the early years of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

With the assistance of Graham Ruttan, a student in the Faculty of Education, the number of interviews conducted with faculty, staff, administrators, students and friends of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has grown to 70. The interviews are between one and three hours long and provide a wealth of engaging and informative storytelling of the lives of individuals who experienced the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge during its infancy.

According to the Oral History Association, "Oral history is a field of study and a method of gathering, preserving and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants in past events. Oral history is both the oldest type of historical inquiry, predating the written word, and one of the most modern, initiated with tape recorders in the 1940s and now using 21st-century digital technologies."

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives, together with the Department of History, has taken on the important role of ensuring that the collection is preserved and accessible to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community. Dr. Heidi Macdonald has assumed responsibility for the collection and has been instrumental in ensuring that the project continues to grow. Jacob Cameron, a technical specialist in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library and working in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives has done most of the work required to design and facilitate the easy access to these recordings.

Karissa Patton, a student in the history program, has also contributed to this project by assisting with the biographies and transcripts first worked on by Ruttan. Ruttan spent two summers on this project, interviewing former students, creating written transcripts and conducting the research for the short biographies of the participants.

While the project is largely complete, it is still a work in progress. It can be accessed on campus from two online locations. From the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library's homepage under the Resources tab, choose "U of L's Digital Collections" and follow the link to the collection. It is also located on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives web page at digitallibrary.uleth.ca/cdm/singleitem/collection/oralhistory/id/44/rec/1.

Dr. Tagg joined the Department of History in 1969. During his tenure here, he served as assistant dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science. Tagg, who retired in 2003, devoted much of his time to the advancement of liberal education here at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. In recognition, the U of L has honored him and a fellow Professor Emeritus, Dr. Ron Yoshida, with the Tagg-Yoshida Lectures, which emphasize the importance of liberal education to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and to the southern Alberta community.

In addition, the Dr. James D. Tagg Citizenship Award is available to continuing graduate students for academic achievement and community involvement.

This oral history project provides the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ with a distinctive and valuable way to capture the early history of our institution. Together with all the interviewees, Tagg has captured the lived experiences of individuals forever linked to the U of L. It will serve as an enduring legacy to our institutional memory.

Mike Perry is the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archivist

This story first appeared in the February 2012 edition of The Legend. To view the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Oral history project brings past to life

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:34:42 +0000

In January 2009, Dr. James Tagg, Professor Emeritus of the history department, initiated a project to conduct, collect, digitize and make accessible interviews with individuals intimately connected with the early years of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

In addition, the Dr. James D. Tagg Citizenship Award is available to continuing graduate students for academic achievement and community involvement.

Mike Perry is the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archivist

This story first appeared in the February 2012 edition of The Legend. To view the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Pioneer Holmes looks back at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's beginnings

trevor.kenney — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:49:33 +0000

A chemist, teacher, and university administrator, Dr. Owen Holmes (LLD '05) helped shape the character of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as a liberal arts institution.

Holmes began his career as a research chemist, making significant discoveries in electron spectroscopy, before turning to teaching and administration on the Regina campus of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan. He later moved to the Lethbridge Junior College, where he became acting principal, and then Dean of the Academic Section and Professor of Chemistry. When the Academic Section of the college became the nucleus of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Holmes was the institution's first dean of Arts and Science. He went on to become the vice-president (academic) of the U of L, in which capacity he served for a decade.

As an academic leader of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, he infused the academic and administrative sides of the institution with the philosophy of liberal education. His great achievement was to create a successful liberal education program, the first in western Canadian post-secondary education and an approach that was less than popular at the time.

Many of the ideas Holmes implemented - liberal arts education, small class sizes, independent research opportunities, and student-professor interaction - have shaped the unique character of the U of L and have persisted in the institution to this day.

Holmes's leadership and vision contributed immensely to the success of the fledgling ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and he has dedicated much of his career to creating and consolidating the U of L's reputation of academic excellence.

As he neared retirement, Holmes embarked on a new career as an archivist for the U of L and the City of Lethbridge. When he retired from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, he continued to serve in educational and social service agencies in Lethbridge.

Internship program benefits all

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 May 2011 21:27:10 +0000

Have you noticed that bridges are being built all over Lethbridge right now, linking the U of L to the broader community?

Exciting new opportunities are being offered each semester through the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Museum Studies Internship program. Each year, this program enables students to build connections with the community for their future careers. Those connections provide a plethora of benefits for students, the institutions they work with and the community as a whole.

David Smith and Allison Spencer curating the 1950s exhibition, which is currently showing in the Helen Christou Gallery.

Students enrolled in the internship option, which is part of the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program, use their interests as a starting point to develop relationships with organizations in the community. These interests lead to internships where students gain valuable work experience and the hosting institutions benefit from having new and fresh perspectives. Interns become ambassadors for their institutions, sharing information with the broader community.

"Internships are a great way for students to gain insight into the career choices they are considering, and to acquire behind the scenes perspectives about how institutions operate," says Kevin MacLean, collections technician, Galt Museum and Archives.

Students who gain these insights have an advantage when envisioning their future because they have a clearer sense of the roles they want to occupy. By participating in the internship program, students further their careers by gaining practical hands-on experience, which employers are quick to recognize, and by networking within their career fields.

"My appreciation for public programming has definitely grown with my understanding of what goes into creating events," says Allison Spencer, curatorial intern with the U of L Art Gallery. During her internship, Spencer assisted in hosting public programming activities including Culture Vulture Saturdays as well as assisting exhibition planning.

Hosting an intern is also advantageous for the institution. Students bring enthusiasm, a desire to learn and a willingness to work diligently.

"It's an excellent way for an institution to achieve its vision, because the interns take on responsibility and help permanent staff to become more effective," says Ryan Doherty, SAAG Curator.

In non-profit institutions, volunteering is always encouraged and appreciated. Interns, although often unpaid, bridge the gap between permanent staff and casual volunteers by working regular hours and remaining a valuable resource of volunteer energy. Students who complete the internship program promote their institutions in a positive manner by communicating their learning experiences with others.

Granting opportunities to interns is highly beneficial to the community as well. When cultural institutions thrive, the community thrives as a result.

"Having interns is a great way for us to revitalize ourselves. Having new ideas and a fresh perspective allows us to reflect on how and why we do things the way we do. It adds a sense of vitality to our organization," says Marilyn Smith, SAAG Director.

This year SAAG, Galt Museum, and the U of L Art Gallery had interns in several capacities and expect to have more in the future.

"We welcome interns with an incredibly diverse range of opportunities and will work with students to create the experience that is right for them," says Lori Harasem, volunteer and special events co-ordinator with the Galt Museum.

Jennifer Vanderfluit, who interned at the Galt and worked with the archivist to complete a digital conservation project, readily recommends the experience to fellow students.

"I think the internship program is an incredible opportunity that students should take advantage of," she says. "Every major should have a similar program."

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

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