Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Ann Hansen fonds
General material designation
- Multiple media
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Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title is based on the content of the fonds.
Level of description
Fonds
Reference code
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Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
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Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1973 - 2007 (Creation)
- Creator
- Hansen, Ann, 1953-
Physical description area
Physical description
2.1 m of textual records and other materials
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Ann Hansen is a Canadian anarchist, born in Ontario in 1953. Her early interest in anti-authoritarian activities led her to Europe, where she studied urban guerrilla groups as a part of the University of Waterloo's Integrated Studies department. Upon her return to Canada, she became active with the prison-abolition movement, including the production of Bulldozer magazine.
In the early 1980s, Hansen formed the guerrilla organization, Direct Action (later also known as the Vancouver Five or the Squamish Five), in Vancouver with Julia Belmas, Gerry Hannah, Doug Stewart, and Brent Taylor. Direct Action's major activities occurred in 1982; the bombing of the Cheekey-Dunsmuir BC Hydro substation on Vancouver Island in May, and the bombing of the Litton Industries factory in Toronto in October. Direct Action also participated in the collective Wimmin's Fire Brigade firebombing actions against the Red Hot Video pornographic video store outlets in BC. The group were arrested in January 1983 on the highway near Squamish, BC; "Free the Five" rallies were organized in their support and to raise awareness of alleged biased media reporting concerning the trial. Direct Action members were sentenced to life in prison in June 1984; all members have completed their sentences and have been released. Hansen has since published Direct Action: Memoires of An Urban Guerrilla (Between the Lines Press, 2001), and co-authored, with Julie Belmas, This Is not A Love Story: Armed Struggle Against the Institutions of Patriarchy (2002; available for download from http://TheAnarchistLibrary.org).
Custodial history
Scope and content
The fonds consists of the following series: Direct Action-related clippings, correspondence, ephemera and notes; legal correspondence; pre- and post-parole correspondence, ephemera, notes and writings by others; correspondence received during incarceration; prison records (supplied to Hansen under an Access to Information request); Direct Action chapter drafts and related materials; and RCMP surveillance transcripts (closed until 2072).
Subject matter of the mixed clippings and correspondence series includes: anti-nuclear/anti-cruise missile activism, court proceedings, Elizabeth Fry Society, environmental issues, indigenous peoples issues, international activism, pornography, anti-pornography/anti-snuff films, prison-industrial complex, sexual assault, Red Hot Video, the Vancouver Five trial matters and sentencing, women's rights. Correspondence received during incarceration series includes: correspondence from Brent Taylor, Janice Bear Neudorf, and various supporters and publishers; series also includes 1 box of previous sealed letters from other members of the Vancouver Five, primarily Brent Taylor.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Donated by Ann Hansen in 2008.
Arrangement
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
RCMP surveillance transcripts (wiretap transcripts) closed until 2072.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Finding aid available with folder level control.
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
General note
Part of the Anarchist Archive.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number
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Rules or conventions
Status
Revised
Level of detail
Partial
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Created by JF, July 21, 2020.
Language of description
- English