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A. Brian Deer

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A. Brian Deer
Born
Alec Brian Deer

(1945-01-10)January 10, 1945[1]
Brooklyn, New York
Died (aged 74)[2]
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityKahnawake, Canada
EducationJohn Grant High School(1962), Concordia University(BSci, Math, 1966)
McGill (MLS, 1974)
Occupation(s)Librarian
Scholar
Entrepreneur (Otiohkwa Video)
Known forBrian Deer Classification System

Alec Brian Deer (1945 – January 12, 2019), Tionerahtoken (Mohawk), called Brian Deer, was a librarian from Kahnawake known for the development of an original library classification system that expresses Indigenous knowledge structures. He developed it while working in the late 1970s for the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations). He applied it to other institutions and it has been adapted by additional ones. His work became known as the Brian Deer Classification System.[3]

This classification system, which takes Indigenous knowledge structures into account, was extended and adapted for use by Deer and others for other libraries in Canada. Among these is the Xwi7xwa Library, established as an indigenous library at the Vancouver campus of the University of British Columbia.[4][5][6]

Born with pneumonia and suffering from lung problems when young, Deer worked hard to build his physical strength.[1] He long outlived doctors' expectations. He died at the age of 74 on January 12, 2019 at the Royal-Victoria hospital in Montreal.[7]

Early life, education and marriage

Alec Brian Deer, known as Brian, was born in 1945 in Brooklyn, New York as the third child of four to Mohawk parents Norah Johnson and Alec Deering. A snowstorm had closed down the city and his parents had to walk to the hospital for his birth. Deer was born with pneumonia and suffered from lung problems as a child, undergoing surgery to remove part of his lungs. As a youth he set about building his physical strength to compensate.[1]

His father had added "ing" to his surname because there were so many by the name Deer in their native community of Kahnawake in Quebec, Canada. The family returned there when Deer was young.[1] Deer graduated from John Grant High School in 1962. (He later changed his surname back to the traditional form.)[1]

Deer obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1966 from Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University). He also got a teaching certificate and taught for a time at a school in Kahnawake, but decided to pursue another field. Several years later, Deer studied for a Master of Library Science at McGill University, which he completed in 1974.[1]

In the 1970s he married Peggy Margaret Pyke. They had no children together and separated in the 1980s. He did not remarry.[1]

Librarian career

After completing his master's, Deer was hired as one of the first Indigenous librarians in Canada.[8] He worked at the library of the National Indian Brotherhood (NIB) (now the Assembly of First Nations) in Ottawa. Finding the system of classification in use problematic, and nothing that could adequately organize the materials for use in an Indigenous context, he created a new system from about 1974-1976, adding to it later.

Deer's work on classification has been the subject of studies since the late 20th century. It has had increasingly wide influence in the early 21st century on the practice of librarianship and on the theory of knowledge organization, especially as it relates to Indigenous peoples.[8] Deer later worked at the library of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, where he adapted his system to classify its holdings. He also worked at the Cultural Centre at Kahnawake, and the Mohawk Nation Office.[8]

In 2014 the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs Resource Centre released a new revision of the Deer System. It included a model and tools to make it easier for institutions to implement.[8]

A local variant of the Deer system is also used at the Xwi7xwa Library, the indigenous library at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. The library holds 15,000 items and has integrated its subject system with the main university library. The Aanischaaukamikw Cree Culture Institute in Oujé-Bougoumou, Quebec also uses an updated version of his system.[1]

Career

Deer was an active independent scholar, elder, teacher and community member in Kahnawake. He wrote on issues related to Indigenous knowledge and culture, and taught courses at Concordia University.[9][10] He also ran a video store at Kahnawake.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Rowe, Daniel J. (2019-02-07). "Humble intellectual leaves unique legacy". The Eastern Door. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
  2. ^ "DEER Alec Brian 19452019, death notice, Canada". Canada Obituaries. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  3. ^ Dupont, Sarah (2015). Indigenization of Knowledge Organization at the Xwi7xwa Library (Thesis). University of British Columbia.
  4. ^ Lee, Deborah; Kumaran, Mahalakshmi (2014-06-11). Aboriginal and Visible Minority Librarians: Oral Histories from Canada. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442236820.
  5. ^ "Indigenous Knowledge Organization | Xwi7xwa Library". xwi7xwa.library.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  6. ^ "Aboriginal Library". Aboriginal Education. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  7. ^ "Remembering the life of Alec DEER". montrealgazette.remembering.ca. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  8. ^ a b c d Cherry, Alissa (2015). "A Case Study in Indigenous Classification: Revisiting and Reviving the Brian Deer Scheme". Cataloging & Classification Quarterly. 53 (5–6): 548–567. doi:10.1080/01639374.2015.1008717.
  9. ^ "History 170 - Indigenous Peoples of North America - Prof. Alice Nash - Umass Amherst". people.umass.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  10. ^ Greer, Allan (2004-11-25). Mohawk Saint: Catherine Tekakwitha and the Jesuits. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198038993.
  11. ^ "Local video shop making big changes". kahnawakenews.com. Kahnawake News. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
  • Alec Brian Deer, Facebook memorial page[1]
  1. ^ https://www.facebook.com/a.brian.deer/about?lst=500244738%3A100005269383625%3A1548436964. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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