A LIST OF ORAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS

Collections Corner | Martin Bierens

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Oral history is certainly not a new concept in the museum field. Realistically, it is the oldest form of passing along knowledge over generations. Recently I have started to think about the relevance of oral histories as my upcoming exhibition project is planning to include information gathered through oral history interviews.

The conduction of an oral history interview as part of the Greater Rosemont History Day. (Source)

In a way, we can think of oral history as an essential element to museum collections. Most collections are composed of objects that have been donated to a museum, but oral histories are individuals donating their story rather than their possessions. A museum must then hold these stories to the same standard as they care for their collections. Oral history in a sense is a way for individuals who may not be wealthy in material goods, but are wealthy in knowledge and stories to share their experiences in a museum setting. Thus, it becomes evident that oral histories are a great way for museums to give space to people who have historically been marginalized.

Here I will be providing a list of some interesting oral history collections in North America that you can check out and listen to amazing stories and histories that are not widely told. If you are looking for more detailed information about oral history as an approach to heritage, check out the work of Chloé Houde and Jingshu Helen Yao.

Historica Canada, a large organization conducting oral history interviews. (Source)

1. Historica Canada — the famed organization behind the iconic “Heritage Minutes” also conducts oral history projects. The organization features stories ranging from Indigenous heritage, historical injustices in Canada, 90 years of Canadian military history, and first-hand accounts of notable Canadians. Their goal is to amplify voices missing from the standard historical narrative.

2. UofT Libraries — The UofT Libraries offer access to thousands of oral history collections on an uncountable amount of topics. Some include the Ellis Island Oral History Project, the Civil Rights Documentation Project, and the Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive.

3. Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Museum Oral History Program — This project focuses on the preservation of Seminole culture, history, and memory. This project has also been an effective method to preserve Creek and Miccosukee, the languages of the Seminole. The production of Creek and Miccosukee dictionaries and a mobile app are also available to Seminole Tribal Members. They have also produced content that teaches how to conduct oral history interviews.

The Columbia Center for Oral History is one of the largest university-operated oral history projects. (Source)  

4. Columbia Center for Oral History — Columbia University actually offers a Master of Arts with a focus on Oral History. Some interesting projects available online are the September 11, 2001, Oral History Project, the Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality Oral History Project, and the Rule of Law Oral History Project. The latter features interviews with challengers of capital punishment, and in 2010 shifted focus to the experiences of detainees at Guantanamo Bay following the 9/11 Terror Attacks.

5. Library of Congress —The LOC features many oral history projects that touch on a very wide range of topics.

6. Jewish Women’s Archive — The Listen and Tell: Oral Histories project collects oral histories that teach listeners about Jewish history, identity, and community. A wide variety of material is available online some of which includes resources on how to conduct oral history projects, family histories, the testimony of Holocaust survivors, and contemporary Jewish personal histories/stories.

This is a relatively small list of oral history projects, not all of which are conducted by museums, but all tell personal stories. There are so many oral history projects available online that if there is any topic that you are interested in, a quick google search will likely turn up a wealth of resources.

CANADA GETS IN FORMATION FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

AFRICAN CANADIAN HISTORY

BY: ANNISSA MALVOISIN

Editor's Note: Click the date for more information about the event!

A piece from the Water Carry Me Go Fashion Show. Photographer: Jalani Morgan, Model: Aluad Anei, Garment by: Carol Barretto. (Image Source: Hawa Noor) 

As this glorious month comes to an end, I thought it best to provide you with a list of some of the great events that occurred and are currently ongoing celebrating the accomplishments of Black Canadians and beyond.

I only list 9, but make no mistake there are many more events!

First up,

Friday Night Live Encore: One Love Celebrates Bob Marley at the Royal Ontario Museum

Possibly one of the best FNL's that I have ever attended, the ROM outdid itself with a combination of a Bahamian carnival procession line, "Water Carry Me Go" a beautifully powerful fashion show (by SUPAFRIK), full on chicken roti, and a soca/dancehall/afrobeat party entitled GUMBO (also by SUPAFRIK) that had the whole of Bronfman Hall in a complete dance mania. The event brought together the diverse cultural cores that makes up Toronto's Black community all while learning about Hatschepsut's trip to Punt in the Ancient Egypt Gallery.

My breath was clearly taken. (Image Source: Myriam Dioubaté)

February 5, 2016.

The Music Gallery Presents: Val Inc + Witch Poet
The New Black: Challenging Musical Tropes Panel Discussion

Val-Inc. (Image Source)

This past weekend, a discussion around music, stereotypes and Black culture took place with Black artists who challenge these stereotypes through their art. The event sought to create a dialogue regarding Afro-diasporic cultural expression in music and its under-representation with a focus on Canadian industry.

The panel included Haitian Afro-Electronica music artist Val-Inc, Toronto-based Ethiopian-Eritrian music artist Witch Prophet, Garvia Bailey from Jazz FM and CBC's Exhbitionists host Amanda Parris.

February 20, 2016.

Zun Lee: Fade Resistance - An Exhibition of Found Polaroids at the Gladstone Hotel

The Gladstone Hotel has been on my arts and culture radar this year, and this exhibition has secured its spot. An archival project seeking to discover the stories behind snapshot photographs of Black individuals, Zun Lee put together a powerful display that questions Black agency and empowerment. The event explains that, "These images reflect the way black people saw themselves on their terms - without the intention of being seen, or judged, by others." I haven't seen this yet, but I will be seeing you soon Gladstone Hotel!

(Image Source)

February 1-28, 2016.

Black Future Month 3016 Exhibition and the Pixelation Exhibition at the Ontario College of Art and Design University

OCAD U just went along and made my heart smile this month:


The Black Future Month 3016 Afro Futurism Art Exhibition is the 4th annual installation of its kind. The artists in the exhibit explore Black identity from a futuristic point of view, placing it in real or imagined space and time. This also happens to be the longest consecutively running Black art exhibition in Toronto.

(Image Source)

February 3-20, 2016.


Pixelation is another installation at the institution that explores Black identity. This time, Graphic Design student Zvikomborero Mhakayakora curates 11 artists that challenge and question the representation or lack thereof of Blackness in contemporary art:

"...in order to reflect on how black identity has been formed and continues to be made in this contemporary moment. These works explore many themes including whiteness as default, institutionalized ethnocentrism, displacing racial stereotypes, internalized self-hatred, resistance against consumer culture, dominant settler society, modern practices of enslavement, notions of identity, the process of decolonization and the search for "home"".

February 1- March 1, 2016 in OCAD U's Main Lobby.

Historica Canada Celebrates Black Canadian Women at the Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax

Historica Canada hosted a lavish evening of food and drink alongside the opportunity to experience the storytelling of female leaders in Canada's Black community who have been trailblazers in their own right as well as inspiration for others. I'll toast to that.

February 11, 2016.

Veteran's Voices: Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the No. 2 Construction Battalion display at the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives

(Image Source)

The No. 2 Construction Battalion was the only Black segregated battalion in Canada during the First World War. In commemoration and honour of this, PAMA unveiled a Canadian postage stamp featuring soldiers from the Battalion.

January 20-March 30, 2016.

Toronto Black Film Festival 2016

TBFF's mission is to allow their audience to discover - and this year, that is just what they did. Throughout the first two weeks of February, film screenings of diasporic experiences to talks about The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution with remarkable individuals, the festival was definitely an event worth taking part in for this year and those to come.

February 10-14, 2016.

Songs and Stories 'bout Slavery and the Underground Railroad (UGGR) with Singer and Song-Writer Lonnie Glass at Victoria Central Library

Lonnie Glass creates an innovative way to experience history by using his musicality to tell stories of the Underground Railroad and enslaved peoples.

February 4, 2016.


This month was indeed an event-filled recognition of Blackness, and the Canadian arts and culture industry were key players in that. Although I would love to see these events take place year-round as much as within the month of February, creating a stronger and more rounded experience for everyone.

TEN BEST HISTORICA MINUTES: HISTORY BY THE MINUTE!

THROWBACK THURSDAY

BY: JAIME CLIFTON-ROSS

Can you recall your first encounter with Canadian history? Like many Canadian children of the 90's, I vividly remember learning about compelling historical narratives during commercial breaks on the CBC and CTV. I first learned the stories behind maple syrup, Winnie the Pooh, Laura Secord, the Underground Railroad, Jacques Cartier, the Halifax Explosion, and Nellie McClung to name a few, through HISTORICA MINUTES: History by the Minute. 

Better know as Historica Canada's Heritage Minutes, this series of sixty-second films illustrate key events in Canadian history. Using affect and storytelling devices, Heritage Minutes developed compelling accounts of foundational events in Canada that continue to evoke memory and nostalgia amongst society. Because these stories were communicated through mass media, their narratives are now embedded within our collective psyche. Heritage Minutes taught me to value Canadian history and inspired me to explore my own familial heritage. Who said watching television couldn't be educational?!

Here's a roundup of my favourite Heritage Minutes (in random order). What are yours? How have they impacted your understanding of Canadian history and heritage?

1.  NELLIE McCLUNG:  The infamous feminist and political activist who demanded the right for women to vote in Manitoba.

2. JACQUES CARTIER: The french explorer who encountered the Iroquois people and mistakes their word, "kanata" meaning village, as the name of their land.

3. JOHN CABOT (Giovanni Caboto): A look at the Italian explorer who discovered an ocean full of cod fish off the coast of Newfoundland (single tear...Newfie pride).

4. MAPLE SYRUP: Ojibwa or Iroquois families teach Canadian settlers how to tap for maple water.

5. LAURA SECORD: With the help of Mohawk warriors, this Canadian heroine warned the British of an American Military advance during the War of 1812.

6. JOSEPH BURR TYRRELL: Explorer and geologist discovered dinosaur bones in present day Drumheller, Alberta.

7. THE INVENTION OF BASKETBALL: The story of how sports coach, James Naismith, invented basketball.

8. WINNIE THE POOH: The story of how a Winnipeg soldier's bear became the inspiration for the beloved series of children's books.

9.  THE HALIFAX EXPLOSION: Train dispatcher, Vince Coleman, sacrificed his life to send a message warning a train full of passengers of the impending explosion.

10. MARSHALL McLUHAN: The story of how the Communications theorist coined "the medium is the message" and the "global village".