Family History/Genealogy - Indigenous Resources - Background, Policy, Analysis

What's on this Page

In addition to the options for Metis and Archives materials listed below, this page contains a selection of online sources and a short note on materials available in the BU Library.

For information specific to Metis resources, see the Metis Library Guide. For general information on conducting family history research, please contact the S. J.Mc Kee Archives.

BU Library Guide: Metis Resources
S. J. McKee Archives
Located in BU Library
Christy Henry, B.A. (Spec.), M.A.; (204) 727-9634; Henryc@Brandonu.ca
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Collection of Primary Sources relevant to History in Western Manitoba. Some material is online.

Family History/Genealogy - Suggestions

BU Library: Databases By Subject: Newspapers

Newspaper obituary notices can be an excellent source for family history.

Alberta On Record
The Archives Society of Alberta’s online portal to archival collections in Alberta.
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"Alberta on Record gives access to collections preserved in many archives throughout the province. You can search thousands of descriptions of archival records, photographs, and textual records held in Alberta's archives. The database also hosts records from Yukon archival collections. For access to holdings or for reproduction information, please contact the institution."
Archives of Manitoba
"The holdings of the Archives of Manitoba are a rich resource for the study of the history of Manitoba and its people, as well as the history of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). "
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"The Archives of Manitoba acquires records of all media, including textual records, still images, sound and moving images, documentary art, cartographic records and architectural records."
Automated Genealogy
"Automated Genealogy hosts several projects to index Canadian censuses."
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" Over the last several years Library and Archives Canada has digitized their microfilms of the original census forms for several of the Canadian censuses and Automated Genealogy has organized volunteers to produce indices to the people enumerated in these censuses.... The status of each census project varies depending on how long it has been active. There is a link to the LAC image of the original census page at the top of each transcribed census page."
Canada Historical Online Directories
Contains an option for Manitoba, which includes provincial, territorial, and city directories.
Canadian National Digital Heritage Index (CNDHI)
"Launched in 2016, the Canadian National Digital Heritage Index (CNDHI) is a growing index of digitized heritage collections from across Canada."
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"CNDHI now includes over 1,500 collections held at Canadian universities, provincial and territorial libraries, heritage organizations, archives, and more.
CRKN is committed to increasing the scope and diversity of collections included in CNDHI while re-examining the historical and institutional biases that may occur in the ways in which collections are described and organized."
CanGenealogy/Historical Newspapers
One of many online sites with links to older Canadian newspapers. Arranged by province/location. Includes link to Google News Archive.
Digital Archives Database Project
"View thousands of Métis historical documents, genealogical information, Hudson's Bay Company records, Church missionary records, and personal Métis accounts. "

Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement & Colonial Encounters
This digital collection of primary source documents helps us to understand existence on the edges of the anglophone world from 1650-1920. Discover the various European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa and Australasia through documents that reveal the lives of settlers and indigenous peoples in these areas.

Glenbow Museum/Metis Genealogy
"The Glenbow Library & Archives has an excellent collection of resources for the study of Métis genealogy."
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"Please note that our sources cover predominantly Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and some parts of the Northwest Territories, Ontario, and British Columbia. We are unlikely to be able to help you with research in other geographic areas.
Most of our sources pertain to people who were living in the Prairie Provinces in 1900 or earlier. We are unlikely to be able to help you if you have not traced your Métis ancestry back to that period. "
Guide to the Records of the Metis Scrip Commissions
"...this database primarily focuses on the records created by the Department of the Interior in support of the various commissions authorized to enumerate Métis residents in western Canada...."
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"The records have become particularly important... in the debate surrounding Métis allegations into the mishandling of their rights, as an Aboriginal people, by the federal government; and in family histories, especially with those seeking re-instatement under the Indian Act."
Henderson Directories (from Peel's)
Several western Canadian places, including Brandon.
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"Historical research for the directories was done by expert staff who gathered information for the various cities and regions by visiting every home and business in person. These agents would secure then name of every person who makes the city his or her home, gathering information about them pertaining to their occupation, business address and residential address."
Hudson's Bay Company Archives
"HBCA acquires and preserves archival records of HBC and other records related to HBC history, such as private records of individuals and subsidiary companies (including the North West Company)...".
Hudson's Bay Company Archives - Biographical Sheets
"The Biographical Sheet is a tool prepared by HBCA Archivists to provide basic information on HBC and NWC employees."
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"... employee biographical sheets for individuals who worked for Hudson’s Bay Company and/or the North West Company. Please note that these information sheets have not been created for all former employees."
Indian Affairs Annual Reports, 1864-1990
"This database contains references to be found in more than 40,700 digitized pages of the original annual reports for the Indian Affairs portfolio for the years 1864 to 1966 and the complete annual reports for the department of Indian Affairs from 1967 to 1990.
The annual reports for Northern Affairs are not included in this database....
In 1991 the departmental annual report was integrated into the Estimates Part III which includes the Report on Plans and Priorities and the Performance Report and the Public Accounts, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Canadian Polar Commission."
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The reports:
The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development was created in 1966.
Before 1966, different departments were responsible for the portfolios of Indian Affairs and Northern Affairs.
The departments responsible for Indian Affairs were (in chronological order):
The Department of the Secretary of State of Canada (to 1869)
The Department of the Secretary of State for the Provinces (1869-1873)
The Department of the Interior (1873-1880)
The Department of Indian Affairs (1880-1936)
The Department of Mines and Resources (1936-1950)
The Department of Citizenship and Immigration (1950-1965)
The Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources (1966)
The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1966 to the present)

The departments responsible for Northern Affairs were (in chronological order):
The Department of the Interior (1873-1936)
The Department of Mines and Resources (1936-1950)
The Department of Resources and Development (1950-1953)
The Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources (1953-1966)
The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1966 to the present)
Those departments published yearly reports regarding Indian Affairs that contained information about:
-names and activities of Indian agents in various areas of the country
-extent of education and health of aboriginal populations
-amount and nature of moneys spent
-some residential and day schools
-various statistics
Indigenous genealogy
"With the help of those who use archival records, we have developed this guide to help Canadians undertaking aboriginal genealogical research in the archival documentation at Library and Archives Canada."
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"This guide is not meant to be an exhaustive overview of all sources and research strategies; rather, it is one of the tools you can use. Further resources are listed at the end of this guide, and the specialized staff at Library and Archives Canada and other research institutions will be able to assist you in conducting research into your aboriginal ancestry."
Indigenous Heritage/ Library and Archives Canada
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"Library and Archives Canada (LAC) acquires, preserves, and provides access to published and archival heritage material that represents First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation experiences and contributions to Canada. This includes text, photographs, maps, and audio-visual material. Explore the collection through our online databases, digitized documents and thematic guides."

IPortal
The Indigenous Studies Portal (iPortal) connects faculty, students, researchers and members of the community with electronic resources: books, articles, theses, documents, photographs, archival resources, maps, etc. - Full text: sometimes

Library and Archives Canada/Indigenous Heritage/Metis Nation
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Links to : Profiles
Online resources
Genealogy and Family History
Databases
Research Guides and Finding Aids
Virtual Exhibitions
Library and Archives Canada / Collection Search
This database is undergoing revisions, but may be used while the updating continues.
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"Once fully developed, this new search engine will allow users to search all of the collections available to the public at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) from one starting point. This tool will eventually search more than a hundred stand-alone databases currently available on our website from a single search box. As well, this completely redesigned tool features best practices from research experiences at LAC."
Library Guide: Genealogy and Family History: Aboriginal Ancestry
Library Guide from Vancouver Public Library. "The focus of this page is on Indigenous peoples in British Columbia, though some information on other Indigenous groups is also provided."
Native American Veteran and Canadian Aboriginal Veteran List
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For information about this site see also "Meet the amateur historian who created one of the largest databases of Indigenous
soldiers" : https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/yann-castelnot-indigenous-veteran-historian-1.4797198
Our Legacy
Material relating to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples, found in Saskatchewan cultural and heritage collections.
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan / First Nations and Metis Records
Overview for researching First Nations / Metis family history, and links to a variety of sites.
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"The Provincial Archives has a number of collections that may be of interest to anyone doing family history research about First Nations and/or Métis people. The following list is a sample of some collections that may be of interest:
Robert Doucette fonds
Campbell Innes fonds
A.S. Morton fonds
Saskatchewan, Department of Natural Resources
Canada, Dept. of Indian and Northern Affairs fonds
Oral History collection"
Red River Ancestry
"This website is devoted to descendants of early explorers, fur traders and settlers who first inhabited the great Northwest Territory or Rupert’s Land, and more particularly the region of the Red River of the North."
Researching Aboriginal Ancestors in Ontario
2009: 5 page article from Family Chronicle includes notes about some of the challenges in Family Research.
Researching Your Aboriginal Ancestry at Library and Archives Canada
This 33 page guide provides and outline and suggestions for research.
RG10 series
School Files Series - 1879-1953 (RG10)
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Digitized collection of available reels./See Site HELP for information on this collection - includes "...The School Files Series was created or classified in the Headquarters School Files classification system. This system existed from approximately 1923 to 1949....
The files deal with all aspects of Indian school administration in Canada. Although this sub-series contains only records relating to schools and education, not all departmental headquarters central registry files relating to this topic between 1879 and 1953 are found here. Consult other sub-series within the central registry system series for additional records relating to schools and education for that time period....
Microfilmed copies are available on reels C-7909 to C-7963, C-8134 to C-8219, C-8639 to C-8803, and C-9801 to C-9811...."

See details for this site in the RG Series tab in this Guide

Terminology Guide: Research on Aboriginal Heritage
"...As cultures change, so do the meanings of words and their usage for a given period, place and culture...."

And some material in our Library....

Tracing Your Aboriginal Ancestors in the Prairie Provinces by Laura Hanowski; Saskatchewan Genealogical Society Staff (Contribution by)
Call Number: Second Floor CS88. P71T73; also a copy in the Indigenous Curriculum Collection
ISBN: 9781895859058
Publication Date: 2006-01-01
The genealogy of the first Métis nation : the development and dispersal of the Red River Settlement, 1820-1900 by compiled by D.N. Sprague and R.P. Frye ; introduction by D.N. Sprague ; maps by Victor Lytwyn
Call Number: Second Floor FC129.G4S67; also a copy in the Indigenous Curriculum Collection
ISBN: 9780919143340
Publication Date: Winnipeg : Pemmican Publications, c1983
Records of the Department of Indian Affairs at Library and Archives Canada by Bill Russell; Ontario Genealogical Society Staff (Contribution by)
Call Number: Second Floor E78. C2R87 2004
ISBN: 9780777921456
Publication Date: 2004-01-01
Recollecting Lives of Aboriginal Women of the Canadian Northwest and Borderlands by Sarah Carter (Editor); Patricia McCormack (Editor)
Call Number: Online; Library also has print copies - Second Floor E78.C2R4114 2011; also a copy in the Indigenous Curriculum Collection and online
ISBN: 9781897425824
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Recollecting is a rich collection of essays that illuminate the lives of late eighteenth-century to mid-twentieth-century Aboriginal women who have been overlooked in sweeping narratives of the history of the West. Some essays focus on individual women - a trader, a performer, a non-human woman - while others examine cohorts of women - wives, midwives, seamstresses, nuns.The authors look beyond the documentary record and standard representations of women, drawing also on records generated by the women themselves,including their beadwork, other material culture, and oral histories.
The Long Journey of a Forgotten People: Métis identities and family histories by David T. McNab (Editor); Ute Lischke (Editor)
Call Number: Online. Library also has print copies -Second Floor FC109.L66 and a copy in the Indigenous Curriculum Collection.
ISBN: 9780889205239
Publication Date: 2007-05-28
Known as "Canada's forgotten people," the Métis have long been here, but until 1982 they lacked the legal status of Native people. At that point, however, the Métis were recognized in the constitution as one of Canada's Aboriginal peoples. A significant addition to Métis historiography, The Long Journey of a Forgotten People includes Métis voices and personal narratives that address the thorny and complicated issue of Métis identity from historical and contemporary perspectives. Topics include eastern Canadian Métis communities; British military personnel and their mixed-blood descendants; life as a Métis woman; and the Métis peoples ongoing struggle for recognition of their rights, including discussion of recent Supreme Court rulings.

Note that BU Library does have an incomplete collection of RG10 microfilm reels.

Reference E78. C2P81, Microforms E78. C2P81 Archival records RG10 from the Dept. of Indian Affairs / [microform] / Issued by the Public Archives of Canada. The microfilm reels are located in the MF collection, Main Floor. The print guides are in the Main Reference collection.

Online options for the RG10 series and School Files are noted in the section Suggestions on this page.

Please note: The BU Library collection is comprised of microfilm reels. BU Library does not have a complete collection - BU has:
Black series, 1872-1959. Volumes 3555-4095, reels C9639-9640, C10098-10187, C10190-10192, C10194-10198, C10203-10204, C11063 (index).
School files, 1879-1958. "... files dealing with all aspects of Indian school administration throughout Canada", [including names of staff and residents.] Volumes 6001-6491, reels C7908-7963, C8134-8219, C8639-8803, C9801-9811, C9641-9642 (indexes).
Field Office correspondence and miscellaneous, 1833-1954 (incomplete). Volumes 999A-1728 (incomplete), reels C13900-13903, C13913-13936, C14250-14273, C14275, C14278-14280, C14297, C14838, C14865, C14866, T1455-1459, T1461, T1462, T1464, T1465, T1467-1476.
Deputy Superintendent General’s letterbooks, 1879-1924. Volumes 1078-1133, reels C7208-7723, C8626-8636, C 9000-9009.

Indigenous Resources - Background, Policy, Analysis: Family History/Genealogy

What's on this Page

Family History/Genealogy - Suggestions

And some material in our Library....