This thesis outlines the history of thinking about provenance in the archival profession, focusing specifically on the emergence of the concept of societal provenance and its implications for Aboriginal societal memory. It presents various ways in which the archival profession is currently involved in participatory projects for the public at large and for Aboriginal communities in particular. This thesis asks the question, if records are a creation of community and society, then should not community and society be more involved in their archiving? The thesis calls on archivists to advance the practice of participatory archiving by continuing to engage in collaborative projects, to open dialogue between the archival profession and Aboriginal communities as a means of establishing relationships of trust, and to embrace ways of remembering that challenge and unsettle the traditional archival application of provenance.

This thesis outlines the history of thinking about provenance in the archival profession, focusing specifically on the emergence of the concept of societal provenance and its implications for Aboriginal societal memory. It presents various ways in which the archival profession is currently involved in participatory projects for the public at large and for Aboriginal communities in particular. This thesis asks the question, if records are a creation of community and society, then should not community and society be more involved in their archiving? The thesis calls on archivists to advance the practice of participatory archiving by continuing to engage in collaborative projects, to open dialogue between the archival profession and Aboriginal communities as a means of establishing relationships of trust, and to embrace ways of remembering that challenge and unsettle the traditional archival application of provenance.