A digital version of this newsletter can be found here.

Introducing our Board

Chair: Andrew Morrison        

Vice-Chair: Heather Bidzinski

Finance and Grants: Katrin Nielsdottir     

Secretary: Jackson Anderson

Digital Initiatives: Jackson Anderson and Katie Lynch

Education: Al Thorleifson

Indigenous Relations: Carmen Miedema and Mary Horodyski

Information and Outreach: Corser du Pont

Membership: Carmen Miedema and Heather Bidzinski

Student Member-at-large: Blake Mueller

Call for New Board Member

Special Initiatives Member-at-Large: We are seeking a Member-at-Large to assist in organizing the Manitoba Day event. This can be a shared position.

Committee Reports

Digital Initiatives: We are assisting members with renewing or starting membership online. See Renewing and Starting Membership in this newsletter.

Education and Advisory Services: Stay tuned for upcoming events.

Finance and Grants: The Community Internship Committee has chosen Daly House and Manitoba Metis Federation for Intern Grants. The application process for students is starting.

Indigenous Relations: We had a successful webinar on February 8, on “Creating a Meaningful Land Acknowledgment” with Allen Sutherland, also known as Waabiskhi Mazinazoot Mishtaatim, or White Spotted Horse. Stay tuned for more events.

Information and Outreach: Stay tuned for news about an online Trivia night!

Membership Committee: Please be sure to renew your membership by April!

Student Member-at-Large: Stay tuned for updates!

Renewing and Starting Membership Online

A reminder that membership renewals are due on April 1, 2023. Please follow the instructions below to renew online. Please contact the AMA at ama1@mts.net or Digital Initiatives at webmaster@mbarchives.ca if you have any difficulties.

Membership renewals can be completed by logging into the website clicking on "View profile" in the top right-hand corner of the page. In your profile, click on the "Renew to [date]" button. Update your information in the fields that appear as needed and click the "Update and next" button. Review your information and click the "Pay online button" to finalize your renewal in PayPal.

Focus on Treaties

“What's Your Treaty Story?” Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3a6048e38dae4afd8def879b63f2b1b5  

“Interactive treaty education facility Agowiidiwinan Centre opens at The Forks in Winnipeg” by Darren Bernhardt, CBC News, Dec 15, 2022.. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/agowiidiwinan-treaty-centre-open-forks-winnipeg-1.6686978

“Treaties and the Treaty Relationship Webinar Series” Canada’s History. https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/webinars/treaties-and-the-treaty-relationship-webinar-series

Photo of the Month

Sara Dyck at the Mennonite Heritage Archives using the overhead camera stand to digitize the newspaper "Steinbach Post.” Check out the News about our Members to learn more about the Mennonite Heritage Archives new digitization project.

News about our Members

Mennonite Heritage Archives

An exciting development for the Mennonite Heritage Archives is a new digital platform.  In November 2019 MHA consulted focus groups and heard the call for more online access, which the pandemic has only heightened. As one response, we have embarked on a large digitization project – providing online access to digitized archival content with word searchable capabilities for printed materials. Newspapers and community magazines are currently being posted.  Titles include Steinbach Post, Conference of Mennonites in Canada Yearbook, CMBC Alumni Bulletin, and some books by the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society.  Specialized software was used to recognize the gothic German script.  While not 100%, the results make using these resources much easier. An official launch is yet to come.  The new platform based on the Islandora software, will be able to pull descriptive data from our AtoM instance called MAID (Mennonite Archival Information Database) where applicable.  

Proposed Funding for City of Winnipeg Archives

The City of Winnipeg has proposed a budget that includes $12.6 million to renovate Carnegie Library at 380 William Avenue. This would give the City Archives a proper facility for the first time since 2013. During renovations, the Carnegie Library was damaged in a rainstorm, and the records were then moved to the Myrtle Street location. The budget will be reviewed at the Standing Policy Committee meetings starting on March 3, with a council debate on March 22.

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/this-is-a-double-win-advocates-pleased-with-proposed-funding-for-old-archives-building-1.6272465

Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Historical Preservation and Promotion

Nominations are open until Friday, March 3, 2023 for the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Historical Preservation and Promotion. Initiated in 2011 and presented with the Manitoba Historical Society, this award recognizes “people who have rendered prolonged, meritorious service in the preservation and promotion of Manitoba’s history and heritage”. For more information, see the Manitoba Historical Society website at http:// www.mhs.mb.ca/info/awards/lg/index.shtml

Call for Volunteers

We are always looking for members to join our committees. Volunteering with the AMA is an excellent way to network with archivists, build skills, and shape the future of archives in Manitoba. If you are interested, please contact the Chair, or a committee chair, at one of the email addresses listed on this page https://mbarchives.ca/contact 

News for the newsletter?

Does your archive have a new grant or a new hire? Or do you have a collection you want to promote? Send your news to ama1@mts.net and we will include it in an upcoming newsletter.