Using church records at the archives of the Anglican Diocese of Natal to trace indigenous ancestry: exploring the ethical barriers

Abstract

This article attempts to look outside the boundaries of the record keeping profession to the relationship that indigenous people in South Africa have with church records and the indigenous people’s expectations of church archivists and other record keepers. With a central focus on the cultural contexts of indigenous people in the country, the article examines the entanglement of colonial power relations in local recordkeeping practices. These cultural contexts include the on-going interaction between oral and literate traditions, the legacy of colonial/apartheid disempowerment and the emergent reassertion of indigenous rights and identities in South Africa. The article examines the difficult role that church archivists have in balancing the concerns and expectations that indigenous people have about the creation, existence and use of church records relating to them and their kin.