Background
In early 2020, Henry—a UBC History PhD candidate and PhD Co-op student—began his first full-time paid work term with the Kaatza Station Museum and Archives in Lake Cowichican, Vancouver Island, on unceded Ditidaht, Ts’uubaa-asatx, and Quw’utsun territories. Posed with the initial task of archiving a 300-box collection of records from the International Woodworkers Association of Canada (IWA), his work has made significant strides in highlighting the history and culture of Indigenous Peoples.
Connecting passion with meaningful work
Henry joined the PhD Co-op program—led by the Arts Amplifier’s Letitia Henville, and supported by Kathy Ma—in the third year of his PhD, and met with the staff to describe his academic and personal interests in the environmental history of the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Henry’s research is focused on the interests of environmentalists, Indigenous rights activists, and forest labour unionists in the 1980s and 1990s.
After a few months in the PhD co-op program, Henry was offered the opportunity to support the Kaatza Museum with archiving a 300-box collection of records from the labour union IWA Canada. With a background in environmentalism and an ongoing PhD dissertation on the legacy of logging protests in British Columbia, this co-op position connected his passion with a purpose.
“This opportunity was an incredible honour for me, as I had been searching for these records for years during my PhD. It was also a great way to enrich my archiving knowledge and skillset.”
Crafting your own success story: What did Henry accomplish?
Over the past year, Henry has completed eight months of full-time work at the Katzaa Museum, and is now continuing there in part-time position as an archivist. Though his core responsibilities focused on completing the archiving of IWA records, he successfully pivoted into different areas of work and expanded his skillset.
Henry’s first four months of work involved archiving the 300-box collection of records, alongside additional archives from local unions of IWA Canada. This involved inventorying records by acquiring and arranging them according to specific archiving rules. By the end of the semester, he successfully managed to arrange and write a finding aid for 20 boxes of records for the Vancouver IWA local union. This accomplishment not only enhanced his technical skill in archiving, but also equipped him with more widely applicable capabilities working with large datasets and navigating complex databases.
With a deeper connection to the records and a stronger desire to achieve meaningful change, Henry’s responsibilities evolved in his second semester of full-time work, as he took on a role that involved increased project management and supervision. Aside from training and mentoring a young archivist, his day-to-day work involved drawing up project proposals, preparing budget plans, and conducting outreach to secure additional funding for the records.
Now in his part-time position, Henry has crafted a role that fits well with his personal and academic interests. He is in the initial stages of outreach work with the Ts’uubaa-asatx Peoples and is using his self-directed enthusiasm and archiving work to support the process of reconciliation in Canada’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples.
“By being responsible for the long-term longevity of my project, I began realizing the broader significance and impact of my work on society. The plethora of knowledge, skills, and community connections that I was able to acquire made my experience more holistic.”
Major Accomplishments
From spearheading the seemingly insurmountable task of archiving a 300-box collection of records to being an ally and advocate for greater representation of Indigenous communities, Henry has achieved a substantial amount in his time at the museum.
He has made great progress in archiving the IWA records, with almost half of them arranged and a third of them described. Given his minimal on-the-job supervision and limited archiving course experience—he had taken a part-time online course in the semester before his work began—he has made substantial progress. Henry is also proud of his leadership during his full-time employment at the museum. He immersed himself in work that he cares about and gained valuable experience in grant applications, mentorship, and project management.
Henry is most proud of the positive impact of his work on his dissertation. Though he had strong community connections with environmentalists prior to this experience, these relationships only shaped one aspect of his dissertation research. Henry’s relationships with loggers and other forestry workers have complimented his research and added nuance to his dissertation research. “My connections in the forestry industry through this experience contribute a really valuable, nuanced perspective to my dissertation and research work,” he says. For Henry, the significance of a personal connection with the community reinforces the value and purpose of his work.
Key Highlights of Henry’s Experience
Henry’s experience working for Kaatza has advanced his career prospects in and outside of academia. During his work term, he strengthened his community connections with local Indigenous groups, loggers, and union workers, as well as with organizations like the BC Labour Heritage Centre.
He has also been able to inform his research with knowledge gained through this experience, and his dissertation will feature some of these insights into the process of decolonization and greater representation of Indigenous history. Henry will be presenting about the records at the 2021 Pacific Northwest Labour History Conference with his archiving mentor, Claire Williams.
Prior to COVID-19, Henry was involved in in-person community engagement, presenting his findings to the Kaatza Historical Society. Beyond his work at Kaatza, Henry continues his public research. In collaboration with his trainee and a former union staff collaborator, he launched a blog focused on history and archival standards, as well as their experiences with the IWA materials.
“I am optimistic that I have skills that can be applicable beyond academia, and that can really make a positive difference in broader communities.”
Advice for future students pursuing paid internships during their PhDs?
Henry immensely values the opportunity to expand on his academic passions by engaging in meaningful, community-engaged, self-directed work. For him, the most valuable area of personal and professional growth during his work experience was developing self-confidence in his abilities and his work.
“You are way more skilled than you think you are, and you can accomplish more than you think you can – it is just about finding the right bridges and programs to support you.”
What lies in the future for Henry?
Henry’s personal and professional advancement in his journey with the Katzaa Museum has deepened his passion for meaningful work with Indigenous communities, improved his knowledge and technical skill in archiving, and opened up opportunities for pursuing new work and greater funding. His strengthened connections with the forestry and labour community have also enriched his research and shaped his dissertation in significant ways.
In the near future, Henry is committed to achieving his 300-box archiving milestone while also completing his dissertation. In the long term, he is looking into pursuing contracting work in the art, culture, and heritage sectors. He is also keen on strengthening his relationship with Indigenous communities through working for local museums or teaching in small, intimate rural settings.
Henry’s passion for his work and resilience in the face of challenges, exemplifies the value of pursuing a project you care about – it not only fulfills you, but can also contribute to meaningful change.
Background
In early 2020, Henry—a UBC History PhD candidate and PhD Co-op student—began his first full-time paid work term with the Kaatza Station Museum and Archives in Lake Cowichican, Vancouver Island, on unceded Ditidaht, Ts’uubaa-asatx, and Quw’utsun territories. Posed with the initial task of archiving a 300-box collection of records from the International Woodworkers Association of Canada (IWA), his work has made significant strides in highlighting the history and culture of Indigenous Peoples.
Connecting passion with meaningful work
Henry joined the PhD Co-op program—led by the Arts Amplifier’s Letitia Henville, and supported by Kathy Ma—in the third year of his PhD, and met with the staff to describe his academic and personal interests in the environmental history of the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Henry’s research is focused on the interests of environmentalists, Indigenous rights activists, and forest labour unionists in the 1980s and 1990s.
After a few months in the PhD co-op program, Henry was offered the opportunity to support the Kaatza Museum with archiving a 300-box collection of records from the labour union IWA Canada. With a background in environmentalism and an ongoing PhD dissertation on the legacy of logging protests in British Columbia, this co-op position connected his passion with a purpose.
“This opportunity was an incredible honour for me, as I had been searching for these records for years during my PhD. It was also a great way to enrich my archiving knowledge and skillset.”
Crafting your own success story: What did Henry accomplish?
Over the past year, Henry has completed eight months of full-time work at the Katzaa Museum, and is now continuing there in part-time position as an archivist. Though his core responsibilities focused on completing the archiving of IWA records, he successfully pivoted into different areas of work and expanded his skillset.
Henry’s first four months of work involved archiving the 300-box collection of records, alongside additional archives from local unions of IWA Canada. This involved inventorying records by acquiring and arranging them according to specific archiving rules. By the end of the semester, he successfully managed to arrange and write a finding aid for 20 boxes of records for the Vancouver IWA local union. This accomplishment not only enhanced his technical skill in archiving, but also equipped him with more widely applicable capabilities working with large datasets and navigating complex databases.
With a deeper connection to the records and a stronger desire to achieve meaningful change, Henry’s responsibilities evolved in his second semester of full-time work, as he took on a role that involved increased project management and supervision. Aside from training and mentoring a young archivist, his day-to-day work involved drawing up project proposals, preparing budget plans, and conducting outreach to secure additional funding for the records.
Now in his part-time position, Henry has crafted a role that fits well with his personal and academic interests. He is in the initial stages of outreach work with the Ts’uubaa-asatx Peoples and is using his self-directed enthusiasm and archiving work to support the process of reconciliation in Canada’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples.
“By being responsible for the long-term longevity of my project, I began realizing the broader significance and impact of my work on society. The plethora of knowledge, skills, and community connections that I was able to acquire made my experience more holistic.”
Major Accomplishments
From spearheading the seemingly insurmountable task of archiving a 300-box collection of records to being an ally and advocate for greater representation of Indigenous communities, Henry has achieved a substantial amount in his time at the museum.
He has made great progress in archiving the IWA records, with almost half of them arranged and a third of them described. Given his minimal on-the-job supervision and limited archiving course experience—he had taken a part-time online course in the semester before his work began—he has made substantial progress. Henry is also proud of his leadership during his full-time employment at the museum. He immersed himself in work that he cares about and gained valuable experience in grant applications, mentorship, and project management.
Henry is most proud of the positive impact of his work on his dissertation. Though he had strong community connections with environmentalists prior to this experience, these relationships only shaped one aspect of his dissertation research. Henry’s relationships with loggers and other forestry workers have complimented his research and added nuance to his dissertation research. “My connections in the forestry industry through this experience contribute a really valuable, nuanced perspective to my dissertation and research work,” he says. For Henry, the significance of a personal connection with the community reinforces the value and purpose of his work.
Key Highlights of Henry’s Experience
Henry’s experience working for Kaatza has advanced his career prospects in and outside of academia. During his work term, he strengthened his community connections with local Indigenous groups, loggers, and union workers, as well as with organizations like the BC Labour Heritage Centre.
He has also been able to inform his research with knowledge gained through this experience, and his dissertation will feature some of these insights into the process of decolonization and greater representation of Indigenous history. Henry will be presenting about the records at the 2021 Pacific Northwest Labour History Conference with his archiving mentor, Claire Williams.
Prior to COVID-19, Henry was involved in in-person community engagement, presenting his findings to the Kaatza Historical Society. Beyond his work at Kaatza, Henry continues his public research. In collaboration with his trainee and a former union staff collaborator, he launched a blog focused on history and archival standards, as well as their experiences with the IWA materials.
“I am optimistic that I have skills that can be applicable beyond academia, and that can really make a positive difference in broader communities.”
Advice for future students pursuing paid internships during their PhDs?
Henry immensely values the opportunity to expand on his academic passions by engaging in meaningful, community-engaged, self-directed work. For him, the most valuable area of personal and professional growth during his work experience was developing self-confidence in his abilities and his work.
“You are way more skilled than you think you are, and you can accomplish more than you think you can – it is just about finding the right bridges and programs to support you.”
What lies in the future for Henry?
Henry’s personal and professional advancement in his journey with the Katzaa Museum has deepened his passion for meaningful work with Indigenous communities, improved his knowledge and technical skill in archiving, and opened up opportunities for pursuing new work and greater funding. His strengthened connections with the forestry and labour community have also enriched his research and shaped his dissertation in significant ways.
In the near future, Henry is committed to achieving his 300-box archiving milestone while also completing his dissertation. In the long term, he is looking into pursuing contracting work in the art, culture, and heritage sectors. He is also keen on strengthening his relationship with Indigenous communities through working for local museums or teaching in small, intimate rural settings.
Henry’s passion for his work and resilience in the face of challenges, exemplifies the value of pursuing a project you care about – it not only fulfills you, but can also contribute to meaningful change.