User:Ladyofshallot

Margaret L. Clarke

Margaret L Clarke is an independent scholar in the field of Canadian western history with specific focus on the history of the fur trade and the development of the Metis people and nation. She uses techniques from Family History Studies and Demography to construct models of pre-settlement communities in the Canadian west.

MASTER’S THESIS TITLE: “RECONSTITUTING THE FUR TRADE COMMUNITY OF THE ASSINIBOINE BASIN, 1793-1810.” Thesis Advisor: Dr. Jennifer S.H. Brown, Ph.D.

Margaret also wrote and distributed a newsletter called Canada Tree, focusing on Metis and fur trade family reconstitution and issues of ethnicity and personal identity. The website built around around that publication is at [1] A more recent effort, focusing on Social Justice issues is: [2]

Published articles:

CANADA TREE NEWSLETTER: FOUNDER AND EDITOR, (SEPTEMBER, 1993). An Organ for Fur Trade History and genealogical research.

ARTICLES “The Family of John Lyons: Comments on “Using Canadian Census Records to Trace Ethnic Origin and Family Relationships” Generations, Vol. 21, No. 2, June 1996.

Review Article: Blair Stonechild and Bill Waiser, “Loyal till Death” (Calgary, Fifth House Ltd., 1997) in Prairie Forum, fall 1998.

Book Review: Penny van Toorn, Rudy Weibe and the Historicity of the Word (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1995) in Manitoba History, autumn, 1996.

PAPERS "Weaving the Web: Relating Missionaries and Fur Traders." Land Under Foot Museums Network Seminar, January 20, 2003.

“Skinning the Narrative: Closer analysis of the Story of Fish Creek.” Prairie Forum, fall, 2002.

“The Daughters of Edward McKay and Caroline Cook.” Unsettled Pasts: Reconceiving the West Through Women’s History. Women's History Conference, Calgary, June 2002

"The Battle of Fish Creek NHS: a Review of Sources" for Parks Canada, April, 2001.

"Frenchman Butte: a survey of accounts" for Parks Canada, October, 2000.

“Themes in the Historiography of the First Nations Involvement in 1885” for Parks Canada, January, 1998.

“Sitting Bull’s Wedding Gift: The McKays’ Relations with the Dakotas.” Presented at the 30th Northern Great Plains History Conference, Brandon, Manitoba, September 30, 1995.

“John Richards McKay’s SpyGlass: the larger community.” Presented at the Rupert’s Land Colloquium, May 25 - 27, 1994, Edmonton, Alberta.

“The History of Cold Lake Provincial Park: a focus paper” for Cold Lake Provincial Park, August, 1985.

WORKS IN PROGRESS “A Boy’s Own Summer, 1862” a screenplay, based on archival research.

The People of the Assiniboine Basin: Metis Genesis, thesis to book.

“Georgie, I Loved You: A Woman’s Story.” A screenplay based on family history.

An Aboriginal History of Central Alberta. Begun with support from the Healing Foundation.

“South of Us” an Oral History”, for Alberta History.