MG 355 - Neil Richards fonds Dates: 1876-2018 (inclusive); 1900-2016 (predominant) Extent: 30.53 m of textual material plus OS; 18 CD-Rs; 38 LPs; 108 VHS; 371 DVDs; 4 audo cassettes; 857 photographs; 32 35mm slides; 14 negatives; artifacts, periodicals, graphic material, art prints and posters. Biography: Neil Richards was born in Bowmanville Ontario and received his education in library work in that province. Neil moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1971 to pursue a career in that field at the University of Saskatchewan Library. He was an active participant in local, provincial, and national gay organizations since the early 1970s. His activist work included participation in the Committee to Defend Doug Wilson in 1975, the organization of the 1976 convention of the National Gay Rights Coalition in Saskatoon, and many of the earliest AIDS awareness efforts in Saskatchewan. In conjunction with his work at the University of Saskatchewan Library, he produced many exhibitions and public events concerning AIDS and gay history and life. For nearly 50 years, Neil was an avid collector of all things documenting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer history in Saskatchewan and beyond. Neil believed that “No social movement can survive without two important elements: an intellectual framework and a collective memory…We are what has happened to us, and therefore the record of experience is essential in the process of becoming, and in the establishment of identity” (Peter Millard, 1998), and his avid collecting was an extension of that belief. In 1986 he succeeded in donating both records he had collected, and records from the embattled Body Politic to the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan (PAS)--making them the first Canadian public archive to acquire a large collection related to gay and lesbian life. In 2019 with the closing of the Saskatoon office of the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan those materials were transferred to the University Archives and Special Collections (UASC) to keep his materials together. Similarly groundbreaking is the Neil Richards Collection of Sexual and Gender Diversity at the University Archives and Special Collections, one of the largest of its kind in Western Canada. Neil passed away January 12, 2018. Scope and Content: This fonds contains a variety of collections gathered together by Neil during his lifetime. The main areas of interest are LGBT, cross dressing, wrestling, and (to a minor extent) running. Periodicals, postcards, posters, artwork, textual material, and audiovisual material are found throughout the fonds. Individual scope and content notes are included for each accession/collection. Custodial history: This materials in this fonds were collected from various sources by Neil Richards over his life time, and donated to PAS and UASC throughout his lifetime. From 1986 (his first donation) to 2019 his archives were split between the two institutions. When the Provincial Archives closed their Saskatoon office his archives were transferred to UASC so that they could be kept together. Arrangement: This fonds has been acquired over many different accessions over a span of many years. Some of the accessions were arranged and described by PAS and some were arranged and described by UASC, which is reflected in the style of each accession. Each accession has been processed and listed separately, and contains its own series arrangement. Further detailed arrangement notes are included with each individual accession. The following is the list of accessions, first listing the material originally from PAS and then the material from UASC. S-A595 (LGBTQ+) S-A821 (LGBTQ+) S-A875 (LGBTQ+) S-A958 (LGBTQ+) S-A1026 (LGBTQ+) S-A1067 (LGBTQ+) 2006-127 (Cross-dressing Collection) 2007-096 (Running material) 2009-110/2010-109 (Wrestling Collection) 2016-108 (Cross Dressing Addition and “Beefcake” material) 2018-168 (Personal archives) 1114-057 (Wrestling addendum) 2019-048 (Archives addendum) Restrictions: Files marked as RESTRICTED must be vetted by the archivist prior to use. Please note that there are a section of files which are under a 100 Year Restriction by donor agreement. Restrictions are applied as per privacy legislation. See Also: Neil Richards Collection of Sexual and Gender Diversity (Special Collections) Gens Hellquist fonds – MG 549 Avenue Community Centre fonds – MG 535 Evelyn Rogers and Lilja Stefansson fonds – MG 641 AIDS Saskatoon fonds – MG 315 Saskatchewan AIDS Network – MG 294 Peter McGegee fonds – MG 652 Doug Wilson fonds – MG 653 Digital Projects: Saskatchewan Resources for Sexual Diversity: http://library2.usask.ca/srsd/ Passions Uncovered: Gay Lesbian and Transgender Pulps: http://library2.usask.ca/srsd/pulps/ Ambisextrous: Gender Impersonators of Music Hall and Vaudeville: http://digital.scaa.sk.ca/gallery/genderimpersonators/ All Frocked Up: Glimpses of Cross-Dressing in Saskatchewan: http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/allfrockedup/ S-A595 Dates: 1964-1994. Extent: 4.25 m of textual records Scope and content: Series S-A595 of the Richards Papers is divided into two sub-series: I. Newspaper Clippings, and II. Publications. The former consists entirely of newspaper clippings -- taken mainly from Saskatchewan daily papers -- which relate to homosexuals, homosexuality, and the gay liberation movement. A minority of the clippings pertain specifically to Saskatchewan and document provincial events such as the 1978 visit of Anita Bryant to Moose Jaw, and allegations made by members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan of homosexuality in the New Democratic Party Government of Premier Allan Blakeney. Most of the newspaper articles covered by the clippings were taken by Saskatchewan editors from national and international wire services, and, therefore, do not pertain directly to Saskatchewan events or concerns. This material is useful in documenting the representation of homosexuals in the media, and it provides evidence of changing and fixed social attitudes towards homosexuality in Canada and abroad. The newspaper clippings were originally filed in chronological order, and this arrangement has been maintained. Several accruals have been added, from various accessions, to update the clippings sub-series. The Publications sub-series consists of publications such as pamphlets, newsletters, flyers and programmes. Gay and lesbian political, social, and religious organizations from across Canada are represented, but the largest amount of material is from Western Canada and Ontario. Saskatchewan organizations are particularly well-documented, including: the Community Women's Centre (Regina), Gay Academic Union, Gay and Lesbian Services, Zodiac Friendship Centre / Gay Community Centre of Saskatoon, Gay Community Centre of Regina, Gay Saskatchewan, Gaymates, Grapevine, Lambda Sports Group, Metamorphosis, and the Saskatchewan Gay Coalition. The original arrangement of the publications, in alphabetical order based on the organization name or the publication title, has been maintained. Arrangement: I. Newspaper clippings, 1966-1994. II. Publications Box 1 I. Newspaper Clippings 1. 1954, 1966-1973 2 cm 2. 1974 1.5 cm 3. January - October 1975 1.8 cm 4. November 1975 - January 1976 1 cm 5. February - May 1976 8 mm 6. June - September 1976 1 cm 7. October - December 1976 8 mm 8. January - April 1977 1.5 cm 9. May 1977 8 mm 10. June 1977 1 cm 11. July 1977 1.3 cm 12. August - September 1977 1.5 cm 13. October 1977 1.2 cm 14. November 1977 1.5 cm 15. December 1977 1.4 cm 16. January 1978 5 mm 17. February 1978 1 cm 18. March 1978 1.2 cm 19. April 1978 1.4 cm 20. May 1978 2.4 cm 21. June 1978 1.6 cm 22. July 1978 1.7 cm 23. August 1978 8 mm 24. September - October 1978 1.2 cm 25. November 1978 1 cm 26. December 1978 1 cm 27. January 1979 2.5 cm 28. February 1979 1.7 cm 29. March 1979 2.3 cm Box 2 30. April 1979 1.7 cm 31. May 1979 1.6 cm 32. June 1979 1.5 cm 33. July 1979 1.2 cm 34. August 1979 8 mm 35. September 1979 1.5 cm 36. October 1979 7 mm 37. November 1979 6 mm 38. December 1979 1 cm 39. January 1980 1 cm 40. February 1980 1.3 cm 41. March 1980 1.2 cm 42. April 1980 1 cm 43. May 1980 1 cm 44. June 1980 8 mm 45. July 1980 5 mm 46. August 1980 1.3 cm 47. September 1980 1 cm 48. October 1980 8 mm 49. November 1980 9 mm 50. December 1980 7 mm 51. January 1981 4 mm 52. February 1981 2.6 cm Box 3 53. March 1981 2.2 cm 54. April 1981 4 cm 55. May 1981 1.2 cm 56. June 1981 1.4 cm 57. July 1981 4 mm 58. August 1981 3 mm 59. September 1981 5 mm 60. October 1981 4 mm 61. November 1981 2 mm 62. December 1981 1.2 cm 63. January 1982 2 mm 64. February 1982 5 mm 65. March 1982 5 mm 66. April 1982 6 mm 67. May 1982 4 mm 68. June 1982 6 mm 69. July 1982 5 mm 70. August - October 1982 4 mm 71. November - December 1982 2 mm 72. January 1983 2 mm 73. February 1983 3 mm 74. March 1983 4 mm 75. April 1983 1 cm 76. May 1983 1 cm 77. June 1983 8 mm 78. July 1983 1 cm 79. August 1983 8 mm 80. September 1983 4 mm 81. October 1983 4 mm 82. November 1983 6 mm 83. December 1983 2 mm 84. January - February 1984 1.8 cm 85. March - April 1984 1.6 cm 86. May - June 1984 1.6 cm 87. July - August 1984 8 mm 88. September - October 1984 1 cm 89. November - December 1983 3 mm 90. January - February 1985 3 mm Box 4 91. March 1985 1 cm 92. May - June 1985 1 cm 93. July - August 1985 2.6 cm 94.