Public Vs. Private Records
Preserving Canada’s Residential School records is a sacred obligation. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) makes the Residential School records as widely accessible as possible, while also strictly adhering to privacy laws and cultural access protocols.
All records will be cared for under rigorous access to information and protection of privacy programs at the University of Manitoba balanced with strong input by the Governing Circle.
Types of Records
Public records – Any records that do not violate personal and collective interests will be made fully accessible to the public, largely as electronic files available through online tools.
Redacted records – Following review, portions of some records will be redacted in order to respect privacy and collective rights. The redacted records will be made fully accessible to the public, largely as electronic files available through online tools.
Restricted records – This group includes the unredacted versions of records, records for which no consent for public release was obtained, and culturally sensitive records. These records will not be publicly available. They may only be made available on a case-by-case basis to certain individuals according to strictly administered protocols.
Copyright and Permissions
The Centre is presently faced with the challenge of sorting out a large amount of material supplied to us by a wide variety of archives across the country. As the Centre holds copies of the records and not originals, for the time being, we need to defer to the originating archive to provide information on matters such as copyright. We cannot at this time grant permissions or indemnities in relation to content for which we do not have clear ownership or control.
Depending on your proposed use of the material, you may benefit from a copyright exemption such as Fair Dealing which would allow you to make use of copyright-protected works without permission or royalties, though the Centre cannot help you make this determination. We are working as quickly as possible to confirm matters such as copyright and encourage you to stay in touch with us as we work through this.
- Read more about Terms of Use
- Terms Document: In Progress
To speak to an archivist:
Phone: (204) 480-1091
Fax: (204) 474-7533
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Chancellor’s Hall, 177 Dysart Rd.
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2
NCTR’s spirit name – bezhig miigwan, meaning “one feather”.
Bezhig miigwan calls upon us to see each Survivor coming to the NCTR as a single eagle feather and to show those Survivors the same respect and attention an eagle feather deserves. It also teaches we are all in this together — we are all one, connected, and it is vital to work together to achieve reconciliation.