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This item contains a recording of a CEESSA Meeting held on September 14, 1976. Topics covered include:
A meeting regarding the project
The government of Alberta gave money for the project
Aim of part 1 of the project on East European groups – to write a book about historical background of East European immigration; size and distribution of their settlements. The book will be comprised of 10 chapters.
Mrs. Matejko on progress of the work: the work started on October of last year with statistics of all kinds on Central and Eastern European groups. Search in the Provincial Archives. Compiled bibliographies. The most detailed ones are on Poles, Russian Germans, and Jews. Less information on Romanians or people from the Baltic countries.
A need to find private collections of documents and cover 3 waves of immigration. Problems: some communities came in the 1880s, very early, like Russian Germans. Latvian immigrants were very rare, mostly after WWII.
Volunteers are needed to make contacts with old timers and do fieldwork. Germans are the largest community in Alberta coming from Volga region, Black Sea region, and Volyn apart from those from Reich. Mr. Sokolovsky was a research assistant last year and did a great job on Russians, Byelorussians. 2/3 Germans in Alberta are from Central and Eastern Europe.
Problems with counting Czechs and Slovaks because of the former Czechoslovakia. Dr. Horna is working on Slovaks group. Ms. Birzgalis is writing a massive thesis on Latvian community in Alberta (around 1010 people altogether). And Latvian community is very young and predominantly urban comparing to other ethnic groups.
Romanian community research – there is an old settler who was born in Romania. A student in anthropology in Calgary wrote thesis on Polish community – there is interest from outside and people want to help..
A linguist from Poland studies the changes of Polish language in Alberta. He has many interviews with life stories.
High schools now offer a course on ethnic groups in Alberta – they could use a source book from CEESSA.
Discussing that 5 ethnic groups under consideration now but possibly extending the number of ethnic groups for research.
Problems of intermixed settlements of Romanians.
Grant of $10000 for research: $5000 for research associates, $4000 – for field trips, $1000 – for typing.
Mrs. Matejco will be working on all the ethnic communities in addition to the Polish one, and she will get half of that grant money. The University is going to handle the money so that CEESSA will not have to deal with the receipts and report to the Ministry.
Mrs. Matejko used to work on the project for free but put in a lot of time and effort.
Field trips should be longer and more extensive when there is money.
Mrs. Horna will be paid only for her trips and Xeroxing.
People interested in working on 2 different ethnic communities on their own budget (one is a former student working in the Provincial Archives).
To complete the project, trips to the National Archives in Ottawa and archives in Toronto should be made + a trip to the B.C. Archives and Saskatoon – those have unique sources that must be included.
Dr. Rudnytskyi and Dr. [Lupul] were assigned to do a federal project on history of Ukrainians in Canada. The project is far from being completed. CEESSA did not touch the Ukrainian community because they already have the Ukrainian Institute working on it and various funding.
The German community is more difficult than any other one – they are spread all over the province.
Federal government project includes 20 ethnic groups. The only group that was not approached was Slovenes. Dr. Priestley was then asked to do the work on that group. Another group was Finns – someone is researching them now.
The federal government is not going to give money any more for researching ethnic communities because it already did so. But money could be obtained for compiling and publishing memoirs of the pioneers – it could become a bestseller.
Getting money from Canada Council would enable to finish the project without begging from the communities.

This item contains a recording from a CEESSA Meeting on March 6, 1976.
Conference meeting (working group)
Opening comments: Central and East European Studies and Research including Cultural Heritage in Edmonton
127 pages
Committee that looks after the University interests in studies related to this topic
Small budget and space but University research is funded from outside the University; University focuses on its relevance to the community of Edmonton. Looking for ways of working with the community. Ukrainian community was successful for getting budget for Ukrainian studies. CEESSA would like to provide leadership.
A need to go out and meet the community people.
Project for historians and high school teachers to write the history of people from Eastern Europe (for the book for schools). Oral history recorded interviews. The project should proceed; advertising it via radio.
Students writing Master’s and PhD thesis on this topic and getting scholarships for that purpose. Getting ethnic groups active.
Not competing with ethnic organizations but making the University useful for the community.
East European Studies achieved a purpose of getting known – they are listed in the directory for the community to find them.
Researching with Dr. Gulutsan in 1966 on cultural orientation of Ukrainians in Alberta/Canada – it was published.
Ukrainian Studies Institute – why is it separated from CEESSA? It would be a part of activities of CEESSA. Mission of the Ukrainian Studies Institute – to compliment the work on CEESSA, not to compete. It focuses on the national level. Hungarian Institute in Toronto.
No established library for CEESSA (Dr. Suchowersky). No demand on books in Hungarian. No budget for buying books. A need for financial aid from the group. Problems with donated books of sets that are incomplete.
The questions of books acquisition depends on whether UofA is going to be committed to CEESSA.
Present: Bill [Shukanovich] – Alberta Heritage Council; Ausma Birzgalis – Latvian community; Tom Priestly – Chair of Slavic Languages; Steven [Yurachek] - President of the Ukrainian Self-Reliance League of Canada; Peter Chartoryski; [Maren Kustro] – representing Baltic Germans; [Mongovsky] – representing Canadian-Polish Council(?); Joanna Matejko
Coming up with the agenda. CEESSA comes to the jurisdiction of the UofA’s Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, Special Council. Building a bridge between the University and the community.
CKUA radio plans to broadcast a series of interviews with early pioneers (in English): trying to get 1 person from each country + DPs.
Matejko, Sokolovsky and [??] went to Calgary to investigate the [?] Foundation Archives + to talk to people from the University of Calgary about the project. They have 2 people who work on the journal Ethnic Studies (Dr. Palmer & Dr. [Malytskyi]). University of South California conducting a research project on various ethnic groups, and asked for the bibliography for Alberta province.
An exceptional Ukrainian old gentleman as a candidate for the CKUA radio interview.
Oral history archives should collect interviews in ethnic languages.
Agenda items (not programs ideas): 1) mechanisms for the liaison between UofA and community; 2) proposal for the Research and Studies Foundation to have access to funds to the university people who work on the project; 3) planning and development committee.
A feedback to the UofA is needed. A newsletter idea within the UofA and community for those interested in CEESSA activities. Journal would be better than a newsletter but it needs higher funding.
Proposal: 1) to have a skeleton of a financial committee for the foundation; 2) for the government funding, a financial committee is needed – anyone volunteer? Ethnic groups should also make contributions. Do not go to the communities with the word “Soviet” – no money and no interest in that research. Canadian content in research.
Alberta Heritage Council has a legal status - it should be contacted.
Deciding on the name of the committee that would include “Central and East European Studies” – Central and East European Ways and Means Committee.
How to get people and organizations interested in this committee? Honorary membership should be introduced/considered.
Central and East European Studies Foundation Association – a proposed name. The word “Foundation” is criticized because it means “raising money purpose”.
Central and East European Studies Association of Alberta.
Establishing a smaller working committee.
There are 2 needs: people in the foundation to raise money, and people on board to set policies.
Subcommittees meeting and informing the general committees.