Donald D. Lynch, Feather Maracle, Dr. Sabrina ER Saunders Settler Colonization & Decolonization in Ontario Public Libraries: A Road Forward OLA 2019 January 30, 2019 10:30 am MTCC 206F Donald D. Lynch, Feather Maracle, Dr. Sabrina ER Saunders

Truth & Reconciliation The TRC was established in 2008 Commission was to investigate Indian Residential School in Canada The 2015 multi-volume document included 94 Call to Actions and concluded the Canadian government, via residential school, participated in Cultural Genocide Subcategory reports were published on Child Welfare, Education, Language & Culture, Health and Justice. Library actions were included throughout.

CFLA’s TRC Recommendations CFLA-FCAB TRC 10 recommendations Sample motion to endorse the CFLA-FCAB TRC Report 3-Encourage libraries, archives and cultural memory institutions to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 94 Calls to Action, several of which have been identified as having a direct impact on libraries and archives and are prioritized in this report, and to implement a status report on a yearly basis to monitor their implementation; We have selected a number of the 10 recommendations which all libraries can assist with

TRC Recommendations 4-Ensure accessibility moving forward by continually reminding stakeholders that material produced and programming planned in the future should be accessible to all Canadians. CELA (the Center for Equitable Library Access) and NNELS (the National Network for Equitable Library Service) are positioned to support these efforts

TRC Recommendations 5-Decolonize Access and Classification by addressing the structural biases in existing schemes of knowledge organization and information retrieval arising from colonialism by committing to integrating Indigenous epistemologies into cataloguing praxis and knowledge management; 6-Decolonize Libraries and Space by recognizing and supporting Indigenous cultures, languages and knowledges through culturally appropriate space planning, interior design, signage, art installations, territorial acknowledgements of geographic-specific traditional territories and public programming in collaboration with local Indigenous stakeholders

How can we decolonize OPLs? Consultation & Networking Governance & Policy Services Collections Decolonized Spaces

Consultation & Networking Who are the people of your traditional territory? What service agencies are in your region? Moving beyond stereotypical partnerships Duty to consult as a library mandate? Who can you speak with if unsure? TRC is about respect Don’t focus on negatives when considering partnerships such as women’s shelter, rehab, --Indigenous people are everywhere. While a municipality has a duty to consult, libraries can do this as well—consulting with and gathering feedback from all sectors of the community, including Indigenous peoples and agencies.

Governance & Policy Board Establishes Policy Policy Informs Plans Plans Receive Allocations Allocations Develop Collection & Services Governance-Board; Operation-CEO/Staff are a joint effort. Board has key role in this by informing staff through policy and Strategic Plans. Budgets must accompany any directions. Board has Fiduciary Responsibility. Library’s good name is an asset, always consider the good name and identify of library.

Governance & Policy SOLS Indigenous Acknowledgement Statement Lib-Guide Ontario Public Library Guidelines [14.11 Policy] BMPL Indigenous Policy How to answer respond to municipal concerns about Indigenous Statement Places to look for assistance or guidelines in implementation. An Indigenous Statement does not have to bind any legal groups such as the municipality. The Library’s statement is about respect, not taking a side in any legal matters. OLA/FOPL have statements as well. Every university/college has a statement—if in question, look to see what is in your area and speak with them and consider their statement.

Services Include Indigenous content and interest throughout services [For Indigenous People and all Canadian's to experience]. FNPL Week activities National Aboriginal Day/Month We have attached an article which may be of interest. There are key times such as FNPL Week, National Aboriginal Day, and FN Communities Read, but be sure to have services through year and embed Indigenous content throughout your program plan.

Collections Collections must represent all segments of the community Collections inform Citizenry FNMI is more than children’s materials First Nation Communities Read as a reading list Have a book vendor with FNMI experience

Decolonizing Spaces Libraries are institutions which have barriers for marginalized peoples Gates (security, RFID) Carnegie stairs & entries Circulation Desks as guard stations Way Finding Décor and lack of self in facilities Annual Institute on the Library as Place 2018

Questions

What can we do when we return to our home libraries? Build collections which will serve the Aboriginal population AND the general users. Add Indigenous content about that people to the local collection. Identify the local territory of your library, give acknowledgement of the people of the territory. Offer programs that will grow Canadian citizenship including those of an Indigenous topics (e.g. speaker/author series). Create policy which include acknowledgement, collections, services, and space needs as priorities of the Board. Represent these Policied Priorities in Plans.

Contacts Donald D. Lynch, Six Nations Public Library Chair Chair@SNPL.ca Feather Maracle, Six Nations Public Library CEO Director@SNPL.ca Dr. Sabrina ER Saunders, The Blue Mountains Public Library CEO LibraryCEO@TheBlueMountains.ca