On the Tandanya-Adelaide Declaration: ‘Reach, Relevance and Implementation’

Raymond Frogner

doi:10.37683/asa.v53.11081

Raymond Frogner National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37683/asa.v53.11081

Abstract

I begin this discussion on the making, meaning, and reception of the Tandanya-Adelaide Declaration with deep humility and respect for the experiences of the Survivors of the Canadian national residential school programme. The history and legacy of residential schools represent a painful and unresolved chapter in the shared history of Indigenous peoples and settler society in the country where I live. I write in support of the rights, dignity, and well-being of Inuit, First Nations, and Métis peoples across Turtle Island. That their experiences of childhood deprivation, incarceration, abuse, and loss, will be respectfully remembered and learned from; that this remembrance promotes healing, confronts deniability, supports Indigenous rights and reparations, and gives reason for the sovereignty and self-determination of Inuit, First Nations, and Métis peoples.

Author Biography

Raymond Frogner, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

Raymond Frogner is the Senior Director of Research and the Head of Archives for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR). He graduated with a Master of Arts Degree in History from the University of Victoria and a Master of Archival Studies Degree from the University of British Columbia. His mother was Métis with Cree relatives from Duncan’s First Nation in Northern Alberta. He is the co-chair of the International Council for Archives (ICA) Committee on Indigenous Matters. In 2019 he was the principal author of the ICAs Tandanya Declaration concerning public archives and Indigenous self-determination. He has twice won the W. Kaye Lamb Award for best article of the year in the journal Archivaria for articles on the topic of archives and Indigenous rights. In 2020 he was nominated a Fellow of the Association of Canadian Archivists. In 2022 he was appointed to the National Administration Committee to support the investigation of unmarked burials sites of residential school children. In 2026 the Society of American Archivists awarded him the Best Article on Archival History Award for 2025 for the article, “Red Jenkinson: Tracing Indigenous Influences on Canadian Archival Theory.”. He continues to research, teach, and publish on issues of Indigenous identity, rights, and social memory.