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Colchester Historeum

A Not-For-Profit Museum & Archives

Home Uncategorized A new look at 18th century life in Cobequid
Uncategorized

A new look at 18th century life in Cobequid

by colcheshistoreumon May 5, 2011May 5, 2011

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  • In honour of African Heritage Month, this week’s throwback Thursday features a map that is in our archival collection. The map depicts West Prince Street, or an area that is known as “Smith’s Island” or “The Island.” This is one of three of Truro’s historic (and current) African Nova Scotian communities. What is so significant about this map is that, historically, systemic racism prevented African Nova Scotians and Mi’kmaw people from being granted land. Instead, they were issued “Licenses of Occupation.” Aside from this being inherently problematic, it has become even more problematic in recent years when land claim issues have surfaced or officials have attempted to relocate communities (such as Africville). The map you see here provides evidence of property ownership. In addition, a small notebook owned by Walter Sumner details the transactions of those who purchased the plots of land from him, such as Frederick Borden, Arthur Paris, and Edward Ashe. These records pertaining to minority communities in Nova Scotia are uncommon and, until recently, we did not know this was in our repository; It belonged to a larger collection and was not described in enough detail to appear in our finding aids with keyword searches pertaining to the AFNS community. 

Archives and record-keeping practices have contributed to systemic racism both on a local and global level. The decisions about what type of records are “important” enough to be kept and preserved in Archives has resulted in the exclusion of entire communities of people. The simple notion of the “written record” is a Western concept. Many cultures that do not use the written language as their primary source of record-keeping are inevitably left out.

There are many other ways in which systemic racism is embedded in Archives practices. It is important, as a historical institution, to be self-reflexive of these biases so that we can attempt to decolonize and break away from systemic patterns that aren’t necessarily conscious decisions. Being aware of the problem is the first step in reconciliation. We cannot move forward in new directions until we first acknowledge the past paths that have led us to this point.
  • Please note the changes in our hours of operation. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.
  • It's a chilly morning at the Historeum but it's very picturesque nonetheless! #colchestercounty #downtowntruro
  • #ThrowbackThursday to Heritage Awards from the past few years.
The Society has made the decision to postpone to 2021 Heritage Awards until next year. Should you have any nominees, please email Ken Henderson, and they will be included in next years presentation.
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