‘…We are all treaty people,’ says Thunder Bay library CEO on new partnership with Anishinabek workforce organization

By Rick Garrick

THUNDER BAY— Anishinabek Employment and Training Services (AETS) has seen an increase in clients since moving their office to Thunder Bay Public Library’s (TBPL) Waverly Resource Library in 2018.

“It’s been a success — we know that the number of clients that come in has increased compared to other years,” says John DeGiacomo, executive director of AETS. “We know that the space has been decolonized, in other words, those who come into the space will see the architecture, the welcome on the wall, the sacred teachings. So it’s decolonizing the space that both the library and the AETS board wanted in the new space.”

DeGiacomo says the welcome sign includes 20 different languages.

“It’s a message that the Elders wanted to make sure was prevalent,” DeGiacomo says. “So no matter what background you come from, the Elders wanted to make sure that individual was welcome. There are little children that are coming into the space to go to the children’s area, so this way when they see welcome in their own language, they will feel they are in an environment that is more inclusive.”

DeGiacomo adds that a new gender-neutral, fully accessible washroom renovation is currently scheduled for completion by the end of August made possible through funding from the federal government’s Enabling Accessibility Fund.

“Right now there’s a loading dock area and two older washrooms,” DeGiacomo says. “So at least four new washrooms will be [installed].”

DeGiacomo says the 6,000 square-foot office is about twice the size of the old location on Park Ave. AETS currently has 15 staff who provide services for clients from nine communities across the Northern Superior Region, including Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek, Michipicoten, Pays Plat, Pic Mobert and Red Rock Indian Band.

“We are going to be doing workshops regularly, not only at the Waverly Library but at the Brodie [Resource Library],” DeGiacomo says, noting the workshops include topics such as resumes, cover letters, job search, job loss and life skills. “We are going to be offering those [workshops] both in the north and south end [of Thunder Bay].”

DeGiacomo says the organization is looking at how it could use the Brodie Resource Library, which is located next to City Hall on the south side of Thunder Bay, to better serve community members on that side of the city.

“That is more of a future plan depending on demands and supply,” DeGiacomo says. “The District Services Board is right next door to Brodie, so it is a desirable location to do workshops, so we may very well look at some renovations in the lower level of Brodie.”

John Pateman, chief librarian and CEO of TBPL, says partnerships with Indigenous organizations such as AETS are a step towards decolonization of libraries and library spaces.

“Decolonization is a necessary process for creating community-led and needs-based public libraries,” Pateman says in an emailed statement. “Partnerships like this also help to transform strategies, structures and systems and challenge the organizational culture at the library. The AETS partnership has helped to unlock other funding sources for the library, such as the funds for the public washrooms on the lower level of the Waverley Library. These new washrooms will be constructed over the next couple of months and we look forward to new, modern and accessible facilities for staff, library members and AETS participants alike.”

Pateman adds that the partnership with AETS is all about: “reconciliation and relationship building; a sharing of space, power and resources because we are all treaty people; [and] a part of the TBPL Anti-Racism response to systemic institutional racism.”