Listening to Women's History
Are you interested in supporting the Archives in digitizing and caring for women's history collections, including a large number of oral histories on cassette tape? Find out more and support the project here. Some recordings are now available for listening!
Access to Archives, Summer 2026
During the summer (May-August) the Archives will be open most Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, 1pm-4pm. The archives will also be open at other times by appointment.
We are located on the 5th floor of the Chancellor Paterson Library, LI 5001. Please contact sjanes1@lakeheadu.ca to make an appointment or learn more.
Remote research services are also available. Assistance with research questions and limited digitization on demand are available, though we cannot guarantee a specific completion time. Contact Sara Janes at sjanes1@lakeheadu.ca if you have requests or would like more information about what might be available. Many digitized images are available for public viewing on our Digital Collections page.
What's New
The Archives is sharing digitized film and video on YouTube. You can see it all one one playlist. New video is being uploaded regularly.
New to digital collections:
- Anishinaabemowik: Indigenous Languages Program Historical Documents
- Pride Central posters
- Arthur Malcolm Mushlian: "And the result ... this"
Digital Collections now includes over 13 000 documents, photographs, and videos.
New descriptions are available for:
- the Marshall Dean Family fonds
- the Lakehead University Hockey fonds
- the William Peach fonds
- the Arthur Ellsworth Swaim fonds
- the Penny Petrone fonds
- the Northwestern Ontario Women's Decade Council Herstory Project
- the Sanna Kannasto fonds
- the Arthur Malcolm Mushlian fonds
- the Sweating with Finns collection
- the Harry E. Stafford fonds
- the Raymond Souster fonds
- and the Native Studies Study Group fonds.
Additional Resources
Our Digital Collections page is the best way to access digitized material. Check it out to see 9000+ images of this region's history, with more added regularly.
Web Archives Collections are also available online. You can access web material from Lakehead University and from organizations across Northwestern Ontario.
For an overview of the Archives' collections, see the "Archives at Lakehead University" guide.
To learn more about doing archival research in Thunder Bay, see the "Research in Archives (Thunder Bay, Canada, and Around the World)" guide. Find out how you can donate records to the Archives. You can learn more about how this database works.
Connect with us on Facebook or Instagram for updates, images, and more information.
Acknowledging the Land
Lakehead University respectfully acknowledges its campuses are located on the traditional lands of Indigenous Peoples.
Lakehead Thunder Bay is located on the traditional lands of Fort William First Nation – Anemki Wajiw, signatory to the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850, and on the northern portion of the Upper Great Lakes historic Métis homeland.
Lakehead Orillia and the Lakehead University Barrie STEM Hub are located on the traditional territory of Chippewas of Rama First Nation, a member of Chippewa Tri-Council First Nations, signatories to Treaty 16, Treaty 18, Coldwater and the Williams Treaty of 1923. Lakehead acknowledges historic and contemporary Métis peoples, and the Huron-Wendat peoples who occupied the territory prior to the middle of the 17th century.
Lakehead University honours the many nations who have occupied the lands our campuses are now situated upon and is committed to building relationships based on principles of mutual trust, respect, reciprocity, and collaboration in the spirit of truth and reconciliation.