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Archives & Special Collections

Archives & Special Collections is a department of the Libraries and is located in Room 330 on the third floor of the Elizabeth Dafoe Library. Since its establishment in 1978, the Archives' mission has been to acquire, catalogue and preserve university records and special research collections which further the educational aims of the University of Manitoba, and to promote and provide wide access to them. The Archives' wide-ranging collection mandate includes the acquisition of the records of the University of Manitoba, Canadian Prairie Literary Manuscripts, the Archives of the Agricultural Experience and rare books in the areas of western Canadiana, early Arctic exploration, early Native language syllabics, spiritualism, church history and philosophy, and agriculture among others.

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: Kathleen Rice fonds; Kathleen Rice, a former math teacher, and her brother, Lincoln, decided to stake a homestead near The Pas, Manitoba. Lincoln joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force but Kathleen decided to stay on the homestead alone. After teaching herself about geology and prospecting, she headed to the Herb Lake area north of The Pas. She claimed an island - later called Rice Island - in Weksusko Lake, which turned out to be very rich in copper and nickel. The fonds includes newsclippings about Rice and manuscripts and drawings by Rice about her time in Northern Manitoba.

: Nan Shipley fonds; Nan Shipley published fourteen books and numerous short stories and articles. Her first book, Anna and the Indians (1955), has been reprinted many times. Among her better known publications are Frances and the Crees (1957), The Railway Builders (1965), The James Evan Story (1966), and Churchill: Canada’s Northern Gateway (1974). As a big supporter of Aboriginal and Metis culture, she organized Manitoba’s first Indian handicrafts sales centre (1959) and focused her writing on Indian and Metis women. Her photograph collection depicts hydro and railroad developments in northern Manitoba and of the growth and demise of northern towns and settlements. Among the portraits are native peoples and early missionaries and settlers.