When you join the City of Guelph, you join a team of over 2000 employees who deliver services the community relies on every day. Together, we are bringing to life Guelph’s vision of an inclusive, connected, and prosperous city where we look after each other and our environment. As a single tier municipality, we offer a variety of occupations and career specialities within our organization. Guided by the goals and objectives of the Future Guelph: Strategic Plan and committed to the Corporate Values of integrity, service, inclusion, wellness and learning, the candidate will aid in the achievement of the Community Vision for an inclusive, connected, prosperous city.
About Guelph Museums
Guelph Museums (Guelph, Ontario) consists of three heritage sites – Guelph Civic Museum, McCrae House, and Locomotive 6167 – through which we explore our local histories in the form of exhibitions, online access, educational programming, and community events.
The place we call Guelph has served as traditional lands and a place of refuge for many peoples over time, including the Attiwonderonk and the Haudenosaunee. This land is held as the treaty lands and territory with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Guelph lies directly adjacent to the Haldimand Tract and is part of a long-established traditional hunting ground for the Six Nations of the Grand River. Many First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, from across Turtle Island, call Guelph home today.
As a centre of learning, Guelph Museums is a trusted source for understanding our cultural past; however, as a colonial institution, we have contributed to the marginalization of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour and their communities. Now and forward, Guelph Museums is centering the voices of peoples historically silenced in colonial spaces.
In 2025, we are committed to projects that strengthen and build relationships and are embedded in rigorous research, consultation, and collaboration. We aim to create safer and braver spaces for truth telling, attract and connect with diverse audiences, deepen visitor engagement, and embrace innovative, leading-edge museum practices and technologies. These guiding principles inform all that we do at Guelph Museums and, as such, extend to the incumbent in the Indigenous Curatorial Assistant position described below.
Resumes are being accepted for the position of Indigenous Curatorial Assistant at Guelph Museums, within the Culture and Recreation Department of Public Services. Reporting to the Curator, the Indigenous Curatorial Assistant will contribute to the development, installation, and engagement program for a temporary exhibition, which will be on public view at the Guelph Civic Museum from March 14, 2026 to February 28, 2027. The exhibition, called Thatinatón:ni – Where the Rivers Meet, is a collaboration between Guelph Museums and the Decolonizing Place Narratives Research Collective.
The Indigenous Curatorial Assistant position is a paid internship opportunity, partially funded through Canadian Heritage: Young Canada Works at Building Careers in Heritage program.
Key duties and responsibilities
In collaboration with Guelph Museums and the Decolonizing Place Narratives Research Collective, the Indigenous Curatorial Assistant will contribute to an exhibition that aims is to foster greater public awareness of our collective responsibility and relationships with the people, land, and water in Thatinatón:ni / Guelph. Project goals include:
Qualifications and requirements
Hours of work
35 hours per week, Monday to Friday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. with flexibility to work some evenings and weekends. This is a fixed term contract, from September 2, 2025, until March 27, 2026
Pay/Salary
$22.23 - $24.45 per hour
How to apply
Interested candidates can submit their application by June 8, 2025, to https://young-canada-works.canada.ca/
For more information, please contact:
dawn.owen@guelph.ca (subject line: Indigenous Curatorial Assistant – YCW-BCH)
The City of Guelph is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where employees feel welcome, valued and engaged. Our employment policies strictly prohibit all forms of discrimination on any of the grounds in relevant laws. All employment practices are solely based on individual merit, qualifications, and organization's needs at the time. In keeping with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, we are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals in our job application procedures. If you need an accommodation in order to participate in the hiring process, you may contact us to make your needs known in advance.
Personal information collected through the recruitment process will be used solely to determine eligibility for employment. We thank all candidates in advance; however, only those being considered for an interview will be contacted.