An archive, as defined by the Society of American Archivists, is to “transfer records from the individual or office of creation to a repository authorized to appraise, preserve and provide access to those records” (“Archive | Society Of American Archivists”). When thinking of an archive through this definition many think of a traditional archive, that being, one that is categorized and made up of many documents, objects, and an assortment of other things. An archive is also pictured to be at a university, a museum, or possibly at a law firm because of all the legal documents they must store. These are the archives people usually picture when they hear the word or given the definition above. However, an archive does not have to be the traditional kind an archive can also be a life narrative, autobiography, or even a graphic narrative. These written books and novels do the same work. They “transfer records” from the individual and other “[offices] of creation” (“Archive | Society Of American Archivists”). They also serve the same purpose of preserving and providing access to records (“Archive | Society Of American Archivists”).
Archives, as mentioned above, can be used to preserve a suffering of a group of people so it is not forgotten; an example would be the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada or the TRC (“University of Manitoba….”). This archive collection has multiple goals or purposes, ones it shares with other archives of similar nature. One purpose is to acknowledge the experiences of residential schools in Canada (“Truth And Reconciliation Commission Of Canada). Also to “facilitate truth and reconciliation events at both the national and community levels” in order to educate Canadians about the system of residential schools and the many impacts it has had on the aboriginal community (“Truth And Reconciliation Commission Of Canada). This archive also has the purpose of “identify sources” such as documents, letters, and oral histories; having those who were a part of residential schools to tell their story and for it be recorded for the archive (“Truth And Reconciliation Commission Of Canada). Once identifying the sources, the archive plans to create as “complete a historical record as possible of the IRS system and legacy” (“Truth And Reconciliation Commission Of Canada). The work of the TRC is similar to that of Fred Wah’s “Diamond Grill.”
Diamond Grill goes on to talk about Fred Wah’s Chinese and Canadian identity, his hyphenated identity, as he likes to call it (Wah). Diamond Grill is also the story of Fred Wah’s family, unparticular his father, Fred Senior, and his grandpa (Wah). Through them, he speaks about the Chinese Head Tax police that caused his grandpa to leave his wife and children behind in China while he continued on in Canada (Wah). To talk about these stories and topics Fred Wah had to ask his family, therefore he conducted oral histories. Fred Wah also did other work archives do, such as the TRC. He acknowledges the Chinese Head Tax and, through the very public convention of a book, he also educates communities of the impacts of the Chinese Head Tax and immigration. Diamond Grill creates a historical record of the Chinese experience to immigrate to Canada and, like most archives gives others access to it. Therefore, although Diamond Grill is an autobiography it still serves the same purposes and brought together in the same fashion as a traditional archive.
Archives are not only about a group of people, archives can also represent an individual. The Jack Shadbolt Fonds held at the University of British Columbia are an example of an archive that is just preserving individual records and documents. Jack Shadbolt was a Canadian artist based in British Columbia who was a “distinguished modern artist, lecturer, and writer” (“Jack Shadbolt Fonds…”). Jack Shadbolt’s sketches and artistic representations of modernism, “nature-based [abstractions]”, and landscape, as well as Emily Carr’s influence on his work, have been preserved in the Jack Shadbolt Fonds through his sketchbooks, lecture notes, and poems (Watson; Linsley). Once again, Fred Wah through Diamond Grill also does the same work. The Diamond Grill provides a historical record of the impacts of the Chines Head Tax and Chinese Immigration to Canada but also discusses the restaurant “The Diamond Grill” (Wah). It goes on to explain the layout of “The Diamond Grill,” regular customers, chefs, servers, and his family’s role in the restaurant (Wah). Fred Wah tells the story of his chefs and serves, he does an oral history, providing many individual stories. Like an archive is made of collections and fonds, so is Diamond Grill. The fonds being the individual stories of the chefs, servers, and even the layout of “the Diamond Grill” (Wah). The collection would be the Chinese Head Tax and Chinese immigration to Canada (Wah).
Archives are therefore are not only traditional archives but also autobiographies and life narratives such as Fred Wah’s Diamond Grill. Autobiographies also have the same purposes and methods, such as oral histories, as an archive to bring together materials, documents, and stories to be preserved.
Works Cited
“Archive | Society Of American Archivists”. www2.Archivists.Org, 2017, www2.archivists.org/ glossary/terms/a/archive. Accessed Mar 20. 2017.
Wah, Fred. Diamond Grill. 1st ed., Edmonton, Newest Press, 2008. Print.
“Jack Shadbolt Fonds – RBSC / OSC Archives”. Rbscarchives.Library.Ubc.Ca, 2017, /rbscarchives.library.ubc.ca/index.php/shadbolt-jack-1909. Accessed Mar 20. 2017.
Linsley, Robert. “Presences after Fire: Jack Shadbolt and the Anglo-Colonial Experience.” Shadbolt.Belkin.Ubc.ca, 2017, shadbolt.belkin.ubc.ca/essays/presences -after-fire-jack-shadbolt-and -anglo-colonial-experience. Accessed Mar 20. 2017.
“Truth And Reconciliation Commission Of Canada (TRC)”. Trc.Ca, 2017, www.trc.ca/websites/ trcinstitution/index.php?p=7. Accessed Mar 20. 2017.
“University of Manitoba – National Research Centre For Truth And Reconciliation – Our Mandate”. Umanitoba.Ca, 2017, http://umanitoba.ca/centres/nctr/mandate.html. Accessed Mar 20. 2017.
Watson, Scott. “Jack Shadbolt: The Politics of Emptiness.” Shadbolt.Belkin.Ubc.ca, 2017, shadbolt.belkin.ubc.ca/essays/jack-shadbolt-politics-emptiness. Accessed Mar 20. 2017.