Carolyn Podruchny

My professional and personal goal is to champion Indigenous sovereignty and resistance, make sense of Canada’s colonial past, and support reconciliation by exploring the history of encounters and relationships.

I am the Deputy Director of the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and a Professor of History at York University. My research focuses on the relationships forged between Indigenous peoples and French colonists in northern North America. I am currently preparing a scholarly edition of the writings of the fur trader and North West Company partner John McDonald of Garth. I recently co-edited two collections about Indigeneity in the Philippines, one with the University of Hawai’i Press and the other with the University of the Philippines Baguio Cordillera Studies Centre. Recent articles have explored Metis women’s history in 19th-century buffalo brigades. I have served as co-editor for the Journal of the Canadian History Association / Revue de la Société historique du Canada and Histoire sociale / Social History (I am currently currently the director) and I co-edit a series on Early Canada with McGill-Queen's University Press.

In 2019, Carolyn received the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario's Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation for the Manitoulin Island Summer Historical Institute (MISHI) — a seven-day summer program promoting dialogue between Anishinaabe elders and knowledge carriers with university scholars and students. The institute examines Anishinaabe worldviews through multidisciplinary perspectives on clans, generations, and interconnectedness.

The award, presented at Queen's Park by Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell, recognized MISHI for creating "opportunities for Anishinaabe Elders and knowledge-carriers to teach university faculty and students," celebrating and preserving cultural heritage. Pictured with Gilberto Fernandes and Dr. Thabit Abdullah.