Summary
9th International Indigenous Librarians Forum
August 4-7, 2015.
University of Manitoba,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 11 hours
Activity
The International Indigenous Librarians Forums (IILF) are held every two years as a place for indigenous librarians and information management workers, to gather and share their visions, hopes and expectations for the future. The theme for the 9th IILF was Anikoo Gaagige Ganawendaasowin’s Keepers of Knowledge. Attendance at this forum, was possible as I was in the USA attending my granddaughters first birthday
Evaluation
As cultural knowledge keepers and working in a public library, this conference will provide ideas and the importance of researching and documenting records on the local indigenous history in our shire. The aim is to record oral histories and deliver family history workshops and digitise material that can be accessed online. The presenters at the forum discussed why indigenous people must take control of their own knowledge and work alongside professionals to document history with their perspective. The involvement of professionals at all levels of libraries from classification to thesauri and indigenous collections. Indigenous languages are now included in the primary schools and preschools. Alana Garwood-Houng curator at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) presented the Pathways thesauri, which shows an indigenous perspective to describe items held in the collection.
Objectives
I have chosen to specialise in Records and Archives Management, as I would like to grow our local history collection and also create library guides for resources in the local studies collection. Our library has a strong connection with the indigenous community, with exhibitions and events, but there could be a lot more engagement if there were more indigenous staff. Networking and partnering with local indigenous services are opportunities to engage with the indigenous community and increase their participation with the library.
Reason for attending
Attendance at the conference gave me an opportunity to increase my knowledge of engaging with the indigenous community and learn from other information professionals. As this was an international event I met some colleagues from Australia and have formed relationships with them and other information professionals from galleries, libraries, archives and museums. Our library has a good relationship with our local museum and we provide mutual support when needed.
Relationship of the workshop to my study
The workshops covered many aspects of working with indigenous people and the need for their voice to be included in the history. With this knowledge, I realise we cannot offer one workshop and call this engagement. The library will need to ensure there is continuing engagement and also connect with the outlying areas and their communities. When people feel comfortable and respected this will increase the usage of our library by indigenous people. The State Library of NSW Survey outlines a lack of Indigenous identified positions. I am in an identified role in our library which will become mainstream when I leave
Learning outcomes
Respecting the protocols of the indigenous people, such as a welcome or acknowledgement of country, shows a sign of respect. This is not done at all events and only by some staff at our library, hopefully, this can become a routine opening to our events. The speakers related to the forum’s theme “as keepers of knowledge it is the responsibility of each child to pass down this knowledge from one generation to the next”. Information professionals collaborating with indigenous communities provide reliable subject access to indigenous knowledge, from the perspective of the local indigenous community. From the forum, I feel the importance of including indigenous people in capturing and sharing their history