Anti-Oppression Work

Despite the United Church’s current commitment to equity and justice, the church has played a key role in the complex cultural hierarchical systems of colonialism, racism, sexism, and ableism. Thus, harmful material may be found in both the original archival material as well as in the descriptions and arrangement of those materials.

The United Church of Canada Archives aims to describe new and legacy holdings as accurately and respectfully as possible for the communities that create, use, and are represented within the records. The Archives is committed to identifying problematic language and content in our holdings and to finding more equitable practices that may mitigate any harm to those who use the Archives. This work will be enduring; approaches will need to be flexible to accommodate changing language, greater community input and other professional and/or societal shifts.

The Archives have compiled some resources that users may find helpful.

Reporting Harmful Language or Content

If you encounter any harmful language or content in any of the United Church of Canada Archives descriptions or records, please let us know by filling out this form.

We encourage you to get in touch with us if you would like to discuss your submission or would like to know more about the process.

Summary of Work

The Anti-Oppression Work undertaken by the Archives has been a product of years of work. A timeline of work undertaken to date summarizes the milestones for users. The timeline will be added to when new milestones are reached.