METLAKATLA

This small group of papers relates to Wellcome's involvement with the controversial figure of William Duncan (1832-1918) and his missionary work among the Metlakatla [Tsimshian] Native Americans of British Columbia. They deal with Wellcome's support for Duncan in his disputes with the Church Missionary Society and the Canadian and US Governments and the eventual re-settlement of the Metlakatlan people on Annette Island in Alaska [in 1887] although the majority relate to the administration of the settlement and his estate after Duncan's death. .

Persons or organisations featured in this material include:

The papers have been divided chronologically into two sections, the first consisting of material related to events before Duncan's death, the second to Wellcome's activities on behalf of the trustees of Duncan's will for which he established the 'Metlakatla Case Office' in Washington DC in the 1920s and 1930s.

At Wellcome Collection:

The Archives and Manuscripts department holdings in the Wellcome Library also contain journals, account-books and note-books of Arthur Wellington Clah (1831-1916), a prominent member of the Metlakatla Settlement, with extracts and notes by Wellcome [WMS/Amer. 140(1-72)] and also a memorandum and account book of Albert Wellington (1881-1914), son of Arthur Wellington Clah [WMS/Amer. 141]. MS.8816 comprises two manuscript lectures, 1882-1884 on "The Mission Field of Metlakaahtla".

At other repositories:

The records accumulated by the 'Metlakahtla Case Office' are now in the United States National Archives -- Alaska Region, having been transferred from the Seattle Records Center in 1991. These include correspondence, legal papers and also a large quantity of iconographic material [see United States National Archives and Records Service, 'Preliminary Inventory of the Sir Henry S Wellcome Papers in the Federal Records Center, Seattle Washington' compiled by Elmer W Lindgard, 1963].

The papers of Duncan himself may be found in the William Duncan Memorial Church, Metlakatla, Alaska, with microfilm copies in the National Archives of Canada (Ottowa), the United States National Archives (Alaska) and elsewhere. These also contain some papers relating to HSW.