KINISTINO MÉTIS LOCAL #43: ARCHIVAL PROJECTS

I had the privilege of working with Kinistino Métis Local #43 on two projects recording and digitizing the accession of the Rodney Ballendine Fonds, a staggering amount of material collected by Mr. Rodney Ballendine on the historic Métis family lines of the Kinistino area.

The first project, titled the Gathering Together Archive: Rodney Ballendine Fonds Project, was made possible by the Listen! Hear Our Voices grant from Library and Archives Canada. It involved creating accession forms for each item of the Rodney Ballendine Fonds donated, organizing and uploading the forms to the MemorySask database to make their records public and create a readily available finding aid.

The second project, titled Kinistino Metis Local 43 Itemization Project, was made possible through the Institutional Grant Program, SaskCulture and the Saskatchewan Lotteries Trust Fund, administered by the Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists (SCAA). This leg of the project compiled detailed Archival Records for 23 Métis forebears who played a pivotal role in the history of the Kinistino area. These records are not only a genealogical treasure but also a testament to the enduring legacy of the Métis community of the area. We included a variety of resources such as Métis scrip applications, Hudson’s Bay Company service records, birth, baptism, marriage, and death documents, and even homestead files. The result is a rich, freely accessible genealogical resource that will enhance both the archival integrity and historical visibility of the Métis community in this region.

Thank you to the Métis Elders of Kinistino Métis Local #43 and President Carla Hope for inspiring and facilitating this project and allowing me to participate! It has been an impacting experience for me.

For those interested, the work will soon be available for review on the SCAA MemorySask website.