The new reconciliation librarian at the University of Victoria says he hopes his unique role will help Canadians better understand Indigenous culture and what they have faced through history.
Ry Moran, a member of the Red River Metis and founding director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba, will be joining the University of Victoria this fall.
His new role as an associate university librarian for reconciliation will involve collecting and showcasing Indigenous history as well as promoting reconciliation within university departments and courses.
University of Victoria President Jamie Cassels said MoranB次元官网网址檚 position is the first of its kind in the country.
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B次元官网网址淐anada is a profoundly racist country. The origins of this country are built and founded upon racist ideas and notions and that is the record we have to set straight,B次元官网网址� Moran said in an interview. B次元官网网址淚ndigenous Peoples are not all of the things they have been accused of being.B次元官网网址�
MoranB次元官网网址檚 work with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation involved collecting documents and nearly 7,000 video and audio recordings of residential school survivor statements given to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
In his new role, he will be collecting items ranging from oral histories to written accounts, and work with library officials to package and present the materials to make them more accessible to the public.
B次元官网网址淲e will be actively engaging in some very important conversations about how we approach memory in this country and the responsibilities that are embedded in memory-keeping professions,B次元官网网址� Moran said.
At the most basic level, Moran hopes his role will inspire students to seek more knowledge about reconciliation and Indigenous history.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a magnification and an amplification of this long-standing effort to both teach and repair some of the terrible damage done by some absolutely terrible decisions made in this country,B次元官网网址� he said.
Jonathan Bengston, a senior librarian at the university, said he believes MoranB次元官网网址檚 appointment is one step in helping academic institutions grow.
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B次元官网网址淲e are that cultural memory,B次元官网网址� he said of libraries. B次元官网网址淭he goal is to re-examine our systems and structures within the academic library and to open them to different ways of knowing and being in this world. Indigenous voices are hugely important in Canada.B次元官网网址�
Bengston said he wants MoranB次元官网网址檚 new role to inspire others.
B次元官网网址淭his is the first position of its type at a major Canadian university,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 hope it shows a path for others to follow as well.B次元官网网址�
Cassels said he believes MoranB次元官网网址檚 role as the reconciliation librarian will better the relationship with Indigenous Peoples.
B次元官网网址淗is work will foster mutual understanding and will greatly contribute to our universityB次元官网网址檚 goal of advancing respect and reconciliation,B次元官网网址� Cassels said in a statement.
Nick Wells, The Canadian Press
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