CHARLES DENNEY AND WAHKOOTOWIN: HOW A POPULIST GENEALOGIST INADVERTENTLY SHAPED METIS IDENTITY IN WESTERN ARCHIVES, 1967-2002

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the genealogical collection held at the Glenbow Archives in Calgary. Curated by Edmonton genealogist Charles Denney and collected from the mid-1960s up until his death in 2002, the collection documented the genealogical data of Metis families. The Denney collection is not merely a repository of information. It actively contributes to the construction of contemporary Metis identities. Denney’s collection began with documenting his Metis wife Mildred Sherlock’s family history. The collection changed through Denney’s ‘kitchen table’ collaborations with Metis genealogists Clarence Kipling and Pat McCloy, its purchase by the Glenbow archives, and the use of the Denney collection by the Metis Nation to pursue wahkootowin (relatedness) and post-Powley section 35 rights. By critically engaging with genealogical records, this dissertation concludes that Denney’s archive was guided by the Metis concept of wahkootowin. Although these genealogies originated in a colonial concept of white-pioneer narratives, they have transformed into an act of Metis agency that asserts Metis identities and sovereignty. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding the creation and curation of archival collections and their impact on the recognition and preservation of Indigenous worldviews.