Introduction

This chapter documents a collaborative archives project at Maison d’Haiti, a Haitian community-based and cultural organisation located in the north east of Montreal, Quebec/Canada. Since 1972, the organisation has dedicated itself to the education and integration of immigrant individuals and families through its mission of promoting, integrating and improving the living conditions and defending the rights of Quebecers of Haitian origin and immigrants (Maison d’Haiti, 2018). In their 1981 activity report, members of Maison d’Haiti noted the importance of documenting and preserving their work. They stated that the newsletter was a precious tool because, in addition to providing information about the organisation's activities, it allowed them to make connections between the different programs and with other groups, served as a tool of reflection and animation, and acted as archives of their activities (Maison d’Haiti, 1981).

Beginning with explorations in the late 15th century, Canada became a settler colony primarily for British and French immigrants and their descendants through the dispossession of Indigenous Peoples and the invasion and occupation of their territories. A broader historical and contemporary feature of Canada's capitalist economy has been its systemic reliance upon exploitation through race, immigration status and shifting forms of ‘unfree labour’ (Thobani, 2007; Choudry and Smith, 2016). Racialised communities continue to fight and mobilise for their rights throughout Quebec and Canada. In doing so, they produce records that speak to the ways in which community is negotiated, built and rebuilt through time. The records and archives of community-based organisations encompass different types of records and entail various archival processes (Flinn, 2007; Flinn, Stevens and Shepherd, 2009).

Although there had never been a formal archives project before 2013, people who have been involved at Maison d’Haiti have, at different points, worked to preserve or organise older material. The current archival project and process began in January 2013 in parallel with the organisation's effort to build a new space to accommodate the community's growing and changing needs. Initiated by the director and a volunteer, the project has relied on the participation of volunteers and community members.