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Archival description
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CIUS oral history project
CA BMUFA 0021 · Collection · 1982-1984

Oral History Project was implemented by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies in 1982-1984. During that period of time two researchers -- Lubomyr Luciuk and Zenon Zwarycz -- interviewed more than 135 members of the Ukrainian community all over Canada, both immigrants and those already born in Canada. The interviews were digitized in 2014-2016 producing a database of over 400 sound files. The interviews focus on the Ukrainian organizational life both in the Old Country and Canada, as well as political and/or social activities of the interviewees. They also encompass childhood and formative years of each interviewee, their education, family stories, participation in the Ukrainian War of Independence, WWI, routes of emigration to Canada, patterns of settlement within Canada, relations with a broader Canadian society; WWII, DPs, Ukrainian-Canadian institutions, prominent personalities, as well as the religious and political mosaic inside the Ukrainian community in Canada.

Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
Poster collection
CA BMUFA 0022 · Collection · 1960-2016

The Poster collections consists of 919 posters advertising various dance events as well as Ukrainian community events across Canada: festivals, dance and choir concerts, lectures and presentations, and many other.

CA BMUFA 0023 · Collection · 2014

The Viter Ukrainian Folk Group Choir was a large group project, supported by KuFC equipment and logistics. Graduate students from the Fall 2014 Folklore Research Methods class (MLCS) taught by Andriy Nahachewsky attended a number of rehearsals and performances by the Viter Ukrainian Folk Choir of Edmonton. Students gained experience using recording equipment, conducting interviews and then published their findings. They produced two short videos documenting the choir on stage and as a community.

Students: Nataliya Bezborodova, Larisa Cheladyn, Kateryna Kod, Kelci Mohr, Deepak Paramashivan, Allison Sokil and Dana Wylie.

Aside from two films, there are many photographs in the collection.

CA BMUFA 0025 · Collection · 2006-2011

The collection consists of field research materials collected by Mariya Lesiv as part of her research during doctorate studies at the Ukrainian Folklore Program, University of Alberta, and a copy of her dissertation entitled "Modern Paganism between east and west: construction of an alternative national identity in Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora." 15 mini-DVs contain field video, 10 CDs - photographs, documenting rituals and interviews with Pagans in both Ukraine and North America.

Dissertation abstract:

Modern Ukrainian Paganism is a new religious movement that draws upon beliefs and practices from over a thousand years ago. It represents a mode of resistance to both the political oppression of Ukraine and the dominant position of Christianity in that country. Paganism spread among the urban Ukrainian intelligentsia in the North American diaspora after World War II, and developed actively in Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Today, while experiencing a great decline in the diaspora, it is rapidly growing in Ukraine, involving many different Pagan communities and thousands of believers.

Pagans draw on a variety of sources including both historical chronicles containing information about old Slavic mythology and contemporary rural folklore that is believed to maintain remnants of the old pagan worldview. Although many folkloric forms have been appropriated by the Christian church, contemporary Pagans consider these elements to have originated in pre-Christian times and reclaim them for their own needs.

This work is the first extended study of Ukrainian Paganism in its post-Soviet East European context and in the North American diaspora, simultaneously comparing it with Western Paganism. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation of rituals and interviews with Pagans in both Ukraine and North America, as well as on archival and published materials.

While focusing predominantly on the revival of pagan folklore within this movement, this thesis demonstrates how the imagined past has become important for constructing an alternative national identity in modern contexts of socio-political turmoil. The thesis suggests that this cultural revival often has little to do with historical reality, since there is limited primary information available. Like other revivals, it involves the construction of new cultural forms through creative interpretations of the ancestral past. Moreover, the obscurity of the past allows individualistic interpretations that result in many variations of similar forms. These forms are examined in their relationship to the concepts of nationalism, gender, charisma and power, religious syncretism, and aesthetics. This work is multidisciplinary in nature as it draws upon theoretical frameworks developed in fields of folkloristics, anthropology, sociology, cultural studies and art criticism. It contributes to the understanding of modern cultural processes that shape the national consciousness of people in various parts of the world.

Lesiv, Mariya
CA BMUFA 0027 · Collection

This is a collection of folklore materials and family archives from Roman Onufrijchuk, a key leader in the 1970s and 1980s "Cultural Immersion Camps" organized by CYMK, which involved many future leaders of the Ukrainian community across Canada. This unique and large collection highlights one family's experience in Ukraine, in the Displaced Camps in Europe, and in Canada. The Onufrijchuk fonds includes family photographs, correspondence, souvenirs, publications and a large collection of embroideries.

Onufrijchuk, Roman
CA BMUFA 0028 · Collection · 1996-2002

This project was the core fieldwork collection phase of Jason Golinowski's master thesis.

A dozen or more dance competitions are organized in western Canada which include or focus exclusively on Ukrainian dance, with an estimated total of some 8000 entries per year in recent years. The number of competitions and competitors has risen significantly in the past five years. This increase in popularity raises numerous questions regarding the functioning of "ethnic" cultural activities in this country. Various theories explaining "ethnic persistence" and "ethnic revival" have been proposed. The present project is designed to develop an empirical base of data to test aspects of these conceptual models.

The project consists of asking competition organizers for competition programs and marks through their histories, information which is quite readily available to these committees. A detailed database of the competitors, their home group, instructors, their marks and placements, adjudicators, repertoire and other information will allow an analysis of behavior trends that will shed light into the functions of the competitions and the motivations of the various categories of participants.

This project is relatively self-contained and has been proposed as a Master's thesis by Jason Golinowski in the Ukrainian Folklore Program in the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Studies. It is also connected to a larger study conducted by Dr. Andriy Nahachewsky, dealing with "new ethnicity" and Canadian Ukrainian dance.
(from Project proposal)

Nick Mischi collection
CA BMUFA 0029 · Collection · 1932-2004

The collection consists of Nick Mischi's 90th anniversary album with cards, greetings and photographs, his 95th anniversary album, documents and photographs related to his induction to the Hall of Fame at the Vegreville Pysanka Festival, certificates of appreciation from the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, letters, and other photographs.

Mischi, Nicholai
CA BMUFA 0030 · Collection · 2009

Maryna Hrymych was part of the team of four scholars who went to Brazil in May 2009 together with Andriy Nahachewsky, Serge Cipko and John Lehr. The goal of this research trip was to explore history, daily life, cultural landscape and traditional culture of Ukrainians in Brazil. Ukrainians started immigrating to Brazil in the end of the 19th century and settled mostly in the states of Parana and Santa Catarina. After the trip, all four researchers donated their photographs to the Bohdan Medwidsky Ukrainian Folklore Archives.

Hrymych, Maryna
CA BMUFA 0031 · Collection · 1974-2015

The collection consists of various research materials compiled by Elizabeth Holinaty during her career as a weaver and active community member, including 14 binders with photographs, newspaper clippings, other research material on various folk costumes, weaving, kylymy, poiasy, rushnyky, headware, Ukrainian breads, korovai, Easter traditions, etc.; 18 woven and/or embroidered clothing pieces; calendars; posters; phonograph and video recordings.

Holinaty, Elizabeth
CA BMUFA 0034 · Collection · 1979, 1980

A collection of texts of songs, proverbs and customs collected from informants in Alberta. Appendix contains text of a religious letter from Father Kuban.

Luciw, Daria
CA BMUFA 0035 · Collection · 1976-1981

In the summers of 1976-1981 inclusive, Patricia Pelech (Olsen) Carrow taught Ukrainian Folk Weaving at the Banff School of Fine Arts, now the Banff Centre, in their Visual Arts Department as part of its Weaving/Textile Arts program (later called Fibre Arts). She and her mother, Fiona Pelech, did extensive research in developing visual presentations for this course. They prepared over one thousand slides to present to the students as reference material. The sources for the slides are unknown.

Included in the slides are images pertaining to Ukrainian weaving, embroidery, costuming, baking, ceremonial occasions and photographs of the class participants in Banff.

Pelech Carrow, Patricia
CA BMUFA 0037 · Collection · 2011-2016

The collection consists of the audio recordings of proverbs recorded by Jason Golinowski with Andriy Nahachewsky for the Zabava program on the 840 CFCW.

Nahachewsky, Andriy
Nadia Korpus collection
CA BMUFA 0038 · Collection · 1945-1967

The collection is comprised of Rusalka Dance Ensemble archives, Nadia’s original choreography created for Rusalka, as well as related notes, correspondence, and reference materials for her creations.

Korpus, Nadia
CA BMUFA 0039 · Collection · 2016

The collection consists of the photographs by Andriy Nahachewsky taken while in Wroclaw in the summer of 2016; music scores and publications collected at the Holy Cross Ukrainian Catholic church. There is a large Ukrainian community in this big city, which became part of Poland after WW2, and to which Ukrainians voluntarily and involuntarily moved as Poland Polonized Silesia (and de-Ukrainianized Lemkivshchyna, Chelm, Przemysl). The church is a huge cathedral. It is historically important and is a tourist destination.

The photographs depict the cathedral (Українська католицька катедра Воздвиження Чесного Хреста), Prawoslawna Parafia sw. Archaniola Michala (Orthodox Slavic Church), Ukrainian restaurants in Wroclaw, a graffito of Ukrainian trident.

Music scores are handwritten, typed or copied notation of the music sung by the cathedral choir, including church music, carols, Holodomor concert, etc.

The publications include one issue of the monthly periodical of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in Poland "Blahovist" (Благовіст), one issue of "Khrystyians'kyi holos" (Християнський голос) - a Ukrainian religious newspaper published in Munich, and an issue of the newspaper "Nash vybir" (Наш вибір) - a newspaper for Ukrainians in Poland. There is a brochure of the Prawoslawna Parafia sw. Archaniola Michala (Orthodox Slavic Church).

Nahachewsky, Andriy
Maidan on Facebook
CA BMUFA 0040 · Collection · 2014-01-19 - 2016-01-26

The project consists of the materials collected for Nataliya Bezborodova's master thesis. The thesis traces Internet textual representations of the Maidan, a wide-scale protest movement that took place in 2013-2014 in Ukraine, and their function in identifying the opposing sides during the protests. These texts helped to formulate new narratives, articulate attitudes, and build relationships, create a sense of community within the protestors’ side, which had its impact on institutional changes of commemorative practices.

Facebook served as an important platform for the initial appeal, for coordination between the participants, for reflections, and for identification of the opposing sides during the protests. It was a key space for sharing emotions, personal stories, humor and expressive forms of protest, making allusions to known literary works, historical events and world public figures.

Exploring the types of narratives and their contribution in identifying the opposing sides, the work is focused on digital stories that illuminate elements not covered by the professional media coverage and official reports. It traces the diverse forms, topics and expressive devices in the narratives, and identifies the categories of lore (eyewitness narratives, (re)telling of stories, jokes, poetry, songs, etc.). It provides juxtaposition of the patterns found in the text with the main events of each specific day.

The thesis provides several chapters that focus on: (1) a review of the historical context of the events; (2) an analysis of the data with reference to all categories and topics, and the main findings; (3) the role of humor and expressive devices in releasing the tension of the conflict and in helping to formulate the attitudes within the protestors’ side; (4) evidence of the functions of personal stories as they build relationships, create a sense of community, and validate the participants’ experiences and the significance of the events from the protestors’ perspectives; (5) interpretation within this protest lore, and its impact on institutional changes of commemorative practices as in the example of the Nebesna Sotnia (Heavenly Hundred) narrative formation and its correlation to the repertoire of motifs and terms of the selected historical periods: the Cossack, the Ukrainian National Republic and World War II.
The study underlines the relevance of time and several patterns related to historical events, as Facebook posts immediately responded to the events occurring on the square and streets occupied by protestors, simultaneously with professional media outlets, and sometimes prior to them. These findings have important implications that go beyond the Ukrainian context in that they contribute to the further exploration of social networks functioning in relation to factual events.

Bezborodova, Nataliya
Anna Drepko collection
CA BMUFA 0041 · Collection · 1950s-1990s

The collection consists of pillow covers and a wall hanging embroidered by Anna Drepko, Maria's mother, and memorial cards collected by her at various funerals in Winnipeg and area.

Drepko, Anna
CA BMUFA 0042 · Collection · 1941-1997

The collection consists of the Certificate of Incorporation (1941), history of the organization in Ukrainian and English, meetings agenda and minutes, correspondence between UPAA and various people in Ukraine, project reports and documentation (includes two publication projects: Svarich Memoirs and Plawiuk's Ukrainian Proverbs), photographs and a ledger.

Ukrainian Pioneers Association of Alberta
CA BMUFA 0043 · Collection · 1980s-2001

Collection of proverbs (in type form and handwritten) from Nicholas Kostyniuk. He compiled this collection gradually. Nicholas wrote down many of the proverbs from his mother Anne who used them a lot at home. He finished working on the collection in late 1980s-early 1990s and then found his notes only in 2001. Bishop Yakymyshyn said they were valuable and needed to be kept. A Basilian seminarian Yuriy typed them up. He preferred standard literary language.

A copy of the local history book from the location in Ukraine where Elizabeth's great grandmother came is enclosed.

Kostyniuk, Nicholas
CA BMUFA 0044 · Collection · 1977-1984

The collection consists of the Ukrainian folk tales collected and translated by Nick Evasiuk, one page of "explanatory remarks & apologies" by Nick, a letter from Nick to George (?), and a reply to Nick and Nettie without signature.

Evasiuk, Nick
CA BMUFA 0045 · Collection · 2009-2010

This collection contains the results of two ethnographic trips to the Ukrainian communities in Brazil by Andriy Nahachewsky. The first trip took place from 4 May to 26 May 2009, and included Andriy Nahachewsky, Serge Cipko, John C. Lehr, and Maryna Hrymych. This was the first trip to Brazil for each of the participants, though they each had strong credentials in their disciplines and in fieldwork more generally. Thus the project goal was to cast a wide net for general orientation into the historical and contemporary life of the Ukrainian communities there. Each researcher also had specific personal goals. The trip included visits to Curitiba, Prudentópolis and several rural communities nearby, Craveiro in Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Brasília, and Foz do Iguaçu. The agenda included visits to an agricultural cooperative, meetings with diplomats and organizational representatives, and diverse individuals who could speak about life in their communities. Photographs by Hrymych, Lehr, and Cipko are also accessioned into the BMUFA and located in their own respective collections.

The second trip was undertaken by Andriy Nahachewsky, for 6 months from 14 November 2009 to 13 May 2010. The goal of the project was to continue the first exploratory fieldtrip, intensifying and expanding it. The project had a strong diachronic focus, documenting change in cultural traditions, to understand better how Ukrainian cultural content, rooted in 19th century rural traditions in western Ukraine, became transplanted, disappeared, adapted, and sometimes newly created in its diaspora setting in the Brazilian context. The intent was to be able to compare these processes with similar ones known from the Ukrainian Canadian context, as well as culture in western Ukraine itself, which also changed significantly over the 20th century: One cultural root, and three branches evolving on three continents over 120 years.

Another aspect of the fieldtrip was connected with Nahachewsky’s earlier “Local Culture and Diversity on the Prairies” project, which strove to provide documentation about regional differences in traditional Ukrainian culture in the Canadian setting. This аspect of the project was to try trace local differences in Brazilian culture in a similar way. Some of these regional differences were probably most clear in past decades. A third aspect was more synchronic, aimed to document contemporary life. Connected with this, the Brazil trip involved travelling to some 65 communities in the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, the main Ukrainian settlement areas in Brazil. The project involved recording some 300 audio interviews, 53 hours of video recordings of contemporary events, 14,000 photographs, and gathering many publications and manuscripts (in hard copy and reproduced digitally), as well as diverse artifacts. The overall focus in subject matter was broad, including material culture (farming practices, folk arts), customs (calendar holidays, weddings, funerals, etc) and performing arts (music, dance). Special foci developed for dance materials, religious images, church architecture, cemeteries, music, and weddings, because of Nahachewsky’s research background, opportunities, and experiences as the fieldwork proceeded. The trips were both funded by the Huculak Chair and the Kule Folklore Centre (for the first trip: Nahachewsky, Hrymych, and various shared expenses). During both trips, the hosts in the home base in Prudentópolis, as well as other locations in Brazil, were very warm and hospitable, open, and generous. A copy of the digital photo, audio, and video fieldwork materials was deposited in the Museu do Milênio in Prudentópolis.

Nahachewsky, Andriy