We are very pleased to announce that the CAC Board has approved a proposal put forward by the Ad-hoc Advocacy Committee to implement a Reconciliation Working Group (RWG) as of May 2020 to address how our organization should be contributing to and promoting reconciliation with the Indigenous Peoples of the territories in which we work.
The mandate of the RWG will be to develop a formal position for the CAC on the care and repatriation of materials of Indigenous origin, and to reflect this position in CAC working documents, which may include the Codes of Ethics and Guidelines of Practice. The group will be active for two years, and will involve engaged consultation, skill-sharing activities, meetings, and rich discussions. All activities will conform with the OCAP® (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) principles of collaborative research with Indigenous communities developed by the First Nations Information Governance Center.
Funding
The timeline of our process is highly dependent on the success of multiple grant proposals being submitted this fall. Volunteers to help with grant writing or editing are welcome and very much appreciated!
In the interim, we have launched a Go-Fund-Me campaign to help raise funds for a free workshop open to all CAC members and inaugural RWG meeting prior to the CAC annual conference in Hamilton, Ontario. Funds raised will also be earmarked for expenses such as OCAP®training fees and translation. Please show your support by contributing to this grassroots initiative!