The Office of the Treaty Commissioner is pleased to announce the opening of the OTC Library and Archives. Since the foundation of the office in 1989, Treaty Commissioners of Saskatchewan have collected and stored documents, but for the first time this collection has been catalogued and is being made available to the public.

“This is a momentous day for the office. It is important that communities have access to historical materials on Treaties between Crown and Indigenous Nations to help us all move towards full Treaty implementation,” said Mary Culbertson, Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan.

 “To begin we will offer the catalogue these resources virtually through the Saskatchewan Archives Information Network and as soon as COVID-19 protocol allows, we look forward to welcoming people to the office to use the resources in our reading room.” 

The library contains books, articles, academic theses, and unpublished manuscripts. Historical materials include resources on Treaties Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Eight, and 10,  as well as Canada’s pre- and post-confederation Treaties. Significant collections include files relating to Treaty Land Entitlement in Saskatchewan, the development of Treaty Education, and Treaty case law.

“It’s very exciting for us to share these resources with the public, especially the significant collection of Treaty Oral histories from Elders in all Treaty areas. Oral histories and traditions are often forgotten or overlooked, so it was very important for the OTC to ensure their survival,” said Sheldon Krasowski, research and archives coordinator for the OTC.

A team of staff and volunteers took months sorting through boxes of resources, before cataloguing and offering them to the public. 

The Office of the Treaty Commissioner thanks the Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists for their support in this project.

View the OTC Library and Archives catalogue online