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Dates of creation area
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1951-2015 (predominant 1975-2014) (Creation)
- Creator
- Peterson, Betty
Physical description area
Physical description
9.3 m of textual records.
60 photographs: black & white, color; 20 x 26 cm or smaller.
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Name of creator
Biographical history
Betty Peterson was born in the United States in 1917. As social activists, pacifists and Quakers, she and her late husband, Gunnar Peterson, were conscientious objectors during World War II. They also participated in the civil rights movement in Chicago for 23 years and in Vietnam War protests before leaving the United States to settle in Halifax in 1975. In Nova Scotia Peterson continued her advocacy for the peace movement, especially with the Voice of Women for Peace and Halifax Society of Friends (Quakers), and also supported causes concerning the environment, feminism, education, nuclear disarmament, and aboriginal rights. She participated in several out-of-province crusades, which were supported in part by Canadian Society of Friends and chronicled in national media reports, including a 1988 trek to Little Buffalo, Alberta, to support the Lubicon Cree Nation's land-claim fight and a 1987 trip to Goose Bay, Labrador to stand with the Innu protesting low flying military planes. Among her many activities in Halifax were participating in ecumenical movements for social justice (with Kairos), protesting the 1991 Gulf War, and promoting an alternative People's Summit (P7) during the 1995 G-7 meeting held in Halifax, NS. In the early 2000s she participated in public vigils protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and was a founding member of the Raging Grannies, a greying band of activists who used street theatre to promote peace and women's rights. In most of these organizations Peterson had a major role such as organizing, planning, and keeping detailed records of activities, names, strategies and results. She died on February 24, 2018, at the age of 100, in Halifax, NS.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Fonds consists of records documenting Betty Peterson's personal relationships, volunteer activities and interests in peace and social justice issues in Nova Scotia and internationally. The records are organized into four groups, the first consisting of files documenting her activities from 1980-1993, the second her activities from 1994-2004, and the third her activities from 2004-2013, with some overlapping of dates. The fourth group consists of Peterson’s personal correspondence and biographical files 1951-2011. Records in the first 3 groups are arranged by subject, by either the name of an organization (e.g. Voice of Women for Peace), or a cause (e.g. aboriginal rights). The personal correspondence files are arranged by year or by correspondent. Starting in 1977 these files also include annual calendars with brief notes on activities. Fonds includes a large amount of published research and resource material on a given issue (e.g. newspaper clippings, periodicals, and newsletters), but also contains Peterson's notes, memoirs and diaries with comments and recollections, as well as correspondence (incoming and outgoing), memoranda, speeches and articles, minutes of meetings, briefs, reports, published articles about her, transcripts of interviews she gave, and photographs.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Records acquired in 1993, 1999, 2004, 2010, 2013 through donation by Betty Peterson and by her estate in 2018.
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Restrictions on access
Access to File 2020-005/010-11 is closed (privacy) 2028-01-01.
Access to File 2020-005/011-06 is closed (privacy) 2071-01-01.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Associated materials
See also the Women's International Peace Conference fonds (MG 20 volumes 1750 to 1757).
See also the University Archives at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax NS for Betty Peterson's political pins collection.