June is National Indigenous History Month, and KPU Library is pleased to announce that we have a new Indigenous exhibit, collection and space for students and visitors at our Surrey campus library.
χʷəχʷéy̓əm – oral storytelling in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language – (pictured) is located on the first floor of the Artubus Building and was designed by Rachel Chong, Indigenous Engagement & Subject Liaison Librarian, a member of Métis Nation BC. It was developed to make Indigenous authors, history and culture more accessible, and the space itself features details that honour Indigenous knowledge, ways of thinking, and art. The χʷəχʷéy̓əm collection features Indigenous authors and is organized using a Indigenous library classification system, circular shelves emphasize the importance of circle learning and sharing, and the upholstery fabric was designed by Jennifer Lamont, a Métis artist and Wilson School of Design Graduate.
There is currently an exhibit viewable at χʷəχʷéy̓əm, called Present Traditions, which features contemporary Indigenous apparel. The KPU community, its students, staff, faculty and community members, are welcome to come visit the space and display.
Read more at KPU's news release, New Indigenous resource space at KPU Surrey library hosts contemporary apparel display.
Questions? Ask us.
May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
To help draw attention to this day, KPU Library is honoured to announce that a new display by Jennifer Lamont, a Metis artist and Wilson School of Design graduate, is available to view on the ground floor atrium area at Surrey campus library in the Arbutus Building.
This display features a red dress that earned Lamont a second place in this years' Our Social Fabric, Upcycled Design Competition. This years' theme was "Awareness" and Lamont says, "I wanted to give awareness to "Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women" [as] this is a topic that doesn't get enough attention, especially in the media."
KPU Library invites the KPU community to view Lamont's design, and to reflect, educate, promote awareness and take action on this important day and topic.
This display will be available to view throughout May and June.
To educate yourself and learn about Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, visit our guide on this topic.
Questions? Ask us or contact Rachel Chong, Indigenous Engagement and Subject Liaison Librarian.
Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day, and we thought it was a fitting time to let you know of one of the ways we are working towards decolonizing our practices. Here at KPU Library, we strive to "Indigenize Library Practices and Inspire Reciprocal Reconciliatory Relationships" (KPU Library Strategic Plan 2021-2023, Goal 3). We wanted to let our community know that we recently completed a large project to help decolonize the name and subject terms used in our catalogue for Indigenous Peoples and topics in Canada.
What does this mean? Well, in short, it means that we've updated our catalogue--and the terms you can use to search for Indigenous material--to reflect more appropriate terminology and names relating to Indigenous topics. The first phase of the project saw us change the headings for the names of First Nations in BC in our catalogue to reflect the preferred terms by Indigenous nations themselves (for example, the heading ‘Kwakiutl Indians’ changed to ‘Kwakwaka'wakw’.) The second phase of the project involved modifying subject headings used for Indigenous Peoples in Canada from outdated terms (such as ‘Native peoples’ and ‘Indians of North America – Canada’ to ‘Indigenous Peoples’ and ‘First Nations – Canada’.
This process involved modifying over 4600 bibliographic records related to Indigenous studies in Canada and represents many hours of detailed hard work and diligence.
The project has been informed by the work of others, including colleagues at Libraries and Archives Canada, the Manitoba Archival Information Network, UBC’s X̱wi7x̱wa Library, and the Greater Victoria Public Library. This is an ongoing project and there is more work to be done, but this is a significant step towards Indigenizing our library practices.
Want more information on resources for Indigenous Studies? Check out our Indigenous Studies Subject Guide, written by Rachel Chong, Indigenous & Anthropology Liaison Librarian.
Questions? Ask Us
June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada. KPU Library is encouraging the KPU community--our students, employees, instructors and members of the community--to read, listen, watch and learn about the Indigenous experience and Indigenous history, and to seek out content created by Indigenous authors and creators. Especially in light of last weekend’s news, it is markedly apparent for the continued need to self-educate and to seek and hear the voices of Indigenous peoples.
Throughout June, we want you to record your learning using our National Indigenous History Month Learning Log and keep yourself accountable for your self-education! Let's get our collective learning to some significant milestones: Can we read 25, 50, or 100 books? Can we listen to 25, 50 or 100 hours of podcasts? Can 25, 50 or 100 people read the 94 Calls to Action? We'll keep you updated and share recommendations over on our Twitter feed @KPULibrary and with #LearnNIHM.
Whether you're reading, listening, or watching; whether it's non-fiction, fiction; whether it's a chapter, a video, an article, a report or a podcast: we encourage our community to learn about Indigenous issues and hear Indigenous voices.
Questions? Ask Us or email Kelsey, Student Engagement & Community Outreach Librarian.
If you're a KPU Instructor, we encourage you to register for an upcoming session with our Indigenous & Anthropology Subject Liaison Librarian, Rachel Chong, called 'Indigenous Resources for Virtual Classrooms.' In this one hour virtual session, participants will learn how to instruct their students to respectfully integrate and utilize Indigenous resources in their research and assignments. Included in this session are tips on how to integrate our recent set of videos, Indigenous Information Literacy, as well as discussion to help generate ideas for your classroom.
Indigenous Resources for Virtual Classrooms
Wednesday, March 3, 3:00-4:00pm PST
Register online with Teaching & Learning Events
This event takes place online and is for KPU Instructors and Faculty.
This event coincides with Honouring Indigenous Writers, a series of UBC-hosted events throughout the month of March. There are author readings and a Wikipedia Edit-a-thon open to all. We encourage everyone to check out these exciting events and contribute to improving the coverage--and quality of information--of Indigenous writers on Wikipedia.