Jim Ferguson. 1940. SPRA 0179.04.03 Part of Mary Belcourt Davis fonds (cropped)
The South Peace Regional Archives initiated a survey of the region’s holdings in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) call to actions to locate records within their holdings related to Indian Residential Schools. We found very few records related to residential schools, but we did find several records related to Indigenous people and communities in our region. We decided to expand the scope of our research to look for any records related to Indigenous peoples within our holdings.
Thanks to the efforts of staff and volunteers, we now have a small database of material to share. While we pursue avenues of access, we would like to start sharing some of these images and documents.
“Jim Ferguson, son of St. Pierre Ferguson and Philomene Callihoo, served in World War II along with his brothers Malcolm and Henry.” Jim was one of the over 3,000 Indigenous people who served during the war. We know only a few of the stories of our South Peace Veterans, and fewer still for Indigenous veterans.
If you have any stories you would like to share about your service, or the service of family members, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us at info@southpeacearchives.org or 780-830-5105.