Archives are sometimes viewed as neutral repositories of history. However, a recent University of the Streets Café event, "Reclaiming Our History Through Archives: Black and Indigenous Perspectives," reminded participants that they can also be tools for connection, healing and resistance.
The conversation was anchored by two community-rooted voices: Ellen Dobrowolski, Métis scholar and Concordia PhD candidate in the Department of Religions and Cultures, and Leon Llewellyn, a Black community educator and multidisciplinary artist. Alexandra Mills, head of Special Collections and Archives at Concordia, moderated the event.
Discovering hidden stories
A flagship program of Concordia's Office of Community Engagement, the University of the Streets Café bilingual conversations are free and open to participants of all ages, backgrounds and levels of education. This iteration created space to explore how Black and Indigenous communities are reclaiming their stories and recovering what's been lost or hidden.
Dobrowolski shared her doctoral research, which uncovers the story of Sara Riel Louis Riel's sister and the first Métis Grey Nun missionary. While Louis Riel is one of Canada's most documented historical figures, Sara's story has been largely erased, a silence Dobrowolski links to Sara's identity as an Indigenous woman.
Yet, Dobrowolski uncovered a wealth of letters and records deep within the Grey Nuns' colonial archive. The materials bear witness to Sara's life of leadership and cultural negotiation between her community and her Catholic religious order.
"Colonial archives often obscure or distort Indigenous presence," Dobrowolski said, "but they also contain traces of our stories. Reading between the lines is part of decolonial work."
Connecting past and present
Longtime teacher and community organizer Llewellyn said he believes in the importance of controlling our own narratives and reminded participants of the importance of recording their own stories.
"Until the lions can tell their own stories," he said, quoting an African proverb, "the tale of the hunter will always be glorified."
He also taught this lesson to public school students in Montreal's Saint-Leonard neighbourhood, helping them trace their family histories through photos and oral storytelling.
"My students discovered that their grandmother sitting in a rocking chair has a story to tell," he explained. "Through this personal archival work, they learn how their own family stories fit into the bigger story of how and where they live."
At the University of the Streets event, Llewellyn shared the story of his own grandmother, Ruth, who boarded a British mail ship in Grenada in the early 1900s, stepped off briefly in New Brunswick, and finally settled in Montreal. She worked as a maid and later studied to become a seamstress.
Llewellyn tells this story as a powerful emblem for understanding Black migration, labour, and belonging in Canada in the early 20th century.
Fostering access through public engagement
In 2019, Llewellyn donated his personal archive of photographs, drawings, and textural material to Concordia Library's Special Collections and Archives. This donation, known as the Leon Llewellyn fonds, serves to provide public access to this rare collection now used by students, researchers, and community members alike.
Mills emphasizes the role of institutions in fostering access through public engagement programs with schools and community groups. She notes that Concordia's Special Collections and Archives is committed to full public access.
"Archives are full of records, but also silences," she said. "Our work is to activate them and to ensure those voices are heard."
"This event convened a diverse range of voices including archivists, researchers, and engaged citizens who contributed thought-provoking and powerful insights," adds Susan Edey, senior director of community engagement and social impact.
"It was a great example of the kind of meaningful and inclusive space for dialogue that the University of the Streets Café is designed to create."
Don't miss the upcoming events in the University of the Streets Café series.
Learn more about Concordia's Special Collections and Archives, including Black History in Special Collections.
