September 29, 2021. – The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) stands with Indigenous colleagues, Residential School victims and survivors to observe, grieve, and reflect on this inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
CARL acknowledges the importance of commemorating First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities’ histories and legacies in libraries. We are committed to:
- educating ourselves and future library professionals about the long-term effects of Residential School Systems and the history and ongoing realities of Indigenous peoples in Canada;
- dismantling colonialist and racist structures, systems, and practices in our libraries through education and action, building strong relationships, and working in partnership with Indigenous community members;
- advancing research libraries’ roles in implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action and supporting the work of the Canadian Federation of Library Associations’ (CFLA-FCAB) Indigenous Matters Committee to implement the recommendations in its Truth and Reconciliation Report.
To learn more about Indigenous histories and issues in Canada, the following resources are available:
- Indigenous Canada, a Massive Open Online Course produced by the University of Alberta
- Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education, a Massive Open Online Course produced by the University of British Columbia
- indigenouswatchdog.org, the website of a federally registered non-profit business established to monitor, integrate and deliver comprehensive and relevant details on all the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action.
- Recordings of preparatory webinars for the 2021 National Building Reconciliation Forum, co-organized by Université Laval and Université du Québec (available in French and English)
The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation is also hosting a number of webinars between September 27th and October 1st. Note that recordings are available for past webinars.
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CARL members include Canada’s twenty-nine largest university libraries as well as two national libraries. Enhancing research and higher education are at the heart of its mission. CARL develops the capacity to support this mission, promotes effective and sustainable scholarly communication, and public policy that enables broad access to scholarly information.
