SUMMER EMPLOYMENT 2022: Student Technician – 2 positions

TARR Centre records – History of Mi’kmaw political activism in Nova Scotia between 1960 and 2007

 Student Technician – 2 positions

Dates:  May 30,2022 – August 5, 2022

Rate: $16/hour for 10 weeks at 30 hours per week

Location: Wagmatcook Culture and Heritage Centre & Cape Breton University

 General Summary: The project’s principal focus is the holdings of the Treaty and Aboriginal Rights Research Centre of Nova Scotia (TARR Centre). These records are housed at the Wagmatcook Culture and Heritage Centre in Wagmatcook First Nation, Nova Scotia. The TARR Centre holdings document decades of Mi’kmaw political activism and advocacy. The correspondence, position papers, historical research, meeting notes, submissions to the UN, Canada, Nova Scotia and the courts, and other materials in the TARR Centre’s UNSI collection provide a unique view into the complex world of Indigenous-Crown relations.

The TARR Centre records measure 145 linear metres and include inter alia the Union’s administrative files, research files, as well as materials related to litigation the Union undertook, the Union’s lobbying efforts on various issues, and the establishment of the Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey.

NOTE:  The successful applicant will be working in Wagmatcook on a part time basis and is expected to meet Wagmatcook First Nation’s COVID vaccination policy.

Scope of Work

Initial work will re-establish shelving order, audit the records against an existing but incomplete finding aid, create an up to date excel database and re-house materials into archival folders and boxes. A strategy for reference and public access will then be determined in concert with key stakeholders and partners.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Work with staff to become familiar with the professional experience of an archive, the tasks associated with the work plan, the collections and material held in stewardship, archival research tools and collections management software, and the projects previously completed that relate to Indigenous cultural heritage;
2. Undertake the re-housing, organizing and re-shelving of the TARR Centre archives. Re-house of records for preservation purposes will use appropriate archival quality materials
3. Undertake a detailed inventory of the TARR Centre records and enter data into archival database or excel spread sheet
4. Digitize fragile or significant records for preservation and access purposes;
5. File materials, maintain statistic for monthly reporting and perform general office maintenance

Minimum/Essential Qualifications Needed to Perform Job:  Ability to work according to an established schedule, computer skills, attention to detail, ability to work without close supervision, organizational skills, ability to lift and move heavy boxes, understanding of historical research methods and approaches, ability to solve problems, knowledge of Mi’kmaq communities, organizations, and leadership; fluency in the Mi’kmaw language is considered an asset; qualified candidates with Indigenous Heritages are preferred.

Preferred Qualifications:  Interest in historical methods, research, archival or museum studies.

To apply please forward a cover letter and resume by April 25th, 2022 to:

c/o Carla White

Cape Breton University Library

1250 Grand Lake Road

Sydney NS  B1M 1A2

T: (902) 563-1618

Email: carle_white@cbu.ca