Mizinatik Digital Centre

Published purpose

This project includes the history of Anishinaabe communities in remote northern Ontario, located approximately 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay and accessible only by plane or seasonal winter roads. The project aims to create a digital pathway to our history by offering online training in digital preservation skills and prioritizing the digitization of our most fragile and high-priority records, supporting our Nations’ return toward self-governance. The materials identified for digitization include approximately 800 photographs, 150 cassettes (equivalent to roughly 75 hours), 100 film clips in mixed media formats (Super 8, 16 mm, totalling about 50 hours), 1 500 loose pages featuring text, hand-drawn maps, diagrams, and notes in ink and pencil, as well as 40 notebooks and journals containing an estimated 1 200 pages. These records in particular capture an exceptionally dynamic time-frame in the area's history, including locations of traditional trap-lines, historical movements, cultural and archival value. Some of the stories within the audio recordings are also of particular cultural importance, containing knowledge from Elders who have passed, making these materials previously inaccessible, digitizing will provide for a deeper understanding of our history and traditional territory. These materials will also provide valuable context and commentary towards decision making as in areas where we otherwise have no documentation at all to support negotiations. Training program consists of two deliveries of a set of four Courses. How it works: Our courses use an on-line course management system. Courses are taught asynchronously along with scheduled virtual class meetings. Activities involve on-line and off-line participation. Our strong emphasis is on interaction between the participants and the instructors. Each course involves 3.75 hours per week (fifteen hours of work) with tutorial/coaching support to assist participants as needed to keep class actively engaged in the learning process. Training program consists of a set of four courses which are as follows: (1) Planning for digitization: foundations of context for cultural record (2) Introduction for digital preservation: structure and deterioration of paper-based and multimedia materials (3) Preservation reformatting: Creating digital collections (4) Digital repository fundamentals, ethics and long-term sustainability Culminating celebration of training activity; participant certificates