Yukon Archives celebrates 50 years of collecting memories

When territorial archivist David Schlosser ponders on what his favourite items from the Yukon Archives are, he smiles but remains silent.

"The stories we have are just fascinating, you know, they cover the breadths of what has happened in the Yukon," Schlosser said.

"I can't single out a specific event, they are all amazing. I have multiple favourites! They are world-class."

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Yukon Archives, which provides a place for the territory's memories to stay alive. For the occasion, the centre in Whitehorse hosted an open house earlier this month that included tours of the various collections and specialized storage facilities.

With more than 40,000 published items in the centre's library, over 300,000 photos, thousands of hours of footage and sound recordings, the archives has grown significantly over the past 50 years, Schlosser said.

"We have over six kilometres of textual records, if we were to put all the boxes end to end," he said.

The archives collection is a vast treasure trove. It receives donations from individuals, businesses and organizations, as well as transfers of records from government departments.The centre went through renovations in 2017 as it kept expanding and is currently in the middle of improving some of the storage facilities to accommodate more material.

"We're continuing to grow and I don't think we'll ever stop," he said.

"To know that [people] can come to a place, to find all the documents associated to how decisions have been made, and to be able to reflect on the views and opinions that the communities have had over the years... it's really important to have that."

Schlosser said when the archives were created, there was a lot of focus on the history of the Alaska Highway and the White Pass & Yukon Route. He said the interest is now much broader with people wanting to learn not only about long-gone history, but also about the territory's recent years.

"We need to be able to collect a broad base of material, Yukon-related content that touches on the environment, the history, the cultures…being able to hopefully have something in our archives that reflects the interest of our researchers but also that's able to draw people in because they see themselves here," he said.

"If you don't see yourselves in the archives, you are not going to use them. So we really do need to make sure we are collecting material that does reflect their society."

As the centre moves toward the next 50 years, he added, it will be important that the archives reflect the changing territory. He said the Yukon has many diverse and unique communities that are contributing to the territory's evolution.

Private records archivist Lesley Buchan prides herself on having a keen desire to represent the role women have played in the territory's history.

The archives collection includes a 1975 book about dyeing wool using natural pigments found in Yukon, clips about Whitehorse's Mini-Bus Society — the North's first public transit system — that was created by daring women, and fabric samples from the official tartan of Yukon, designed by Janet Couture.

"We wanted to highlight that we have all segments of society, and that we are documenting the women of the territory as well," she said.

A detailed account of the Yukon Archives' history can be found here.