Research Chairs in Indigenous Studies

Award 25317-CA

Research Chairs in Indigenous Studies

Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledges, Concordia University

Indigenous Futures Research Centre

The cross-faculty Indigenous Futures Research Centre (IFRC) will host the Chair.  The IFRC is located in the Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology, and the Chair will have access to Milieux facilities as well as plentiful opportunities to interact with Concordia’s diverse research community.  Concordia is known for its innovative approaches to Indigenous research, including hosting a number of large-scale programs that combine scholarly inquiry, creative production, and community engagement.
Concordia is looking for scholars who are grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and can contribute Indigenous perspectives to their fields of study.  Concordia welcomes scholars in all fields, including expressions of interest from knowledge keepers and artists who may not have the usual academic profile but have acquired their knowledge through a lifetime of experience and practice.  Concordia seeks to highlight how Indigenous perspectives can help steer its institution as well as the larger community towards a more sustainable world.

Specializations: Indigenous knowledges as applied to diverse fields of study, including Indigenous studies, fine arts, public policy, as well as language and culture.

HOW TO Apply

Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Research in the Field of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, McGill University

Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences

The Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences at McGill University aims to expand its existing, unique community-based research and to create innovative research and knowledge mobilization to engage staff, clinicians, and researchers in addressing the disparities faced by Indigenous communities.  The chair will help to foster relationships with Indigenous communities and organizations to benefit Faculty outreach and to establish the Faculty's reputation as a leading institution in the field of Indigenous research. The Indigenous research program aims to address the historical and ongoing oral health disparities that Indigenous populations in Canada face, driven by factors such as colonization and discrimination. The research will focus on areas such as the impact of systemic racism on oral health, cultural safety and cultural competence in integrated oral health care, underrepresentation of Indigenous persons in dentistry, Indigenous knowledge, the development of best practices for the education and training of Indigenous dental professionals, and the development of academic programs in Indigenous communities. The visiting research chair will bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to the Faculty's research and academic programs, helping to establish the Faculty as a leading institution in the field of Indigenous research and providing active mentorship for research trainees.  The Chair will have the opportunity to work closely with the Faculty and McGill academics and researchers to conduct research, give lectures and seminars and foster knowledge mobilization in the areas of Indigenous research, curriculum development, partnership development, student mentorship, and community engagement.

Specializations: Indigenous, Oral Health, Disparities, Determinants, Interventions, Colonization, Social Determinants, Trauma, Rural, Remote, Traditional, Knowledge, Training, Healers, Community-based, Participatory Research.

HOW TO Apply

Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Scholarship, McMaster University

Indigenous Studies Department
McMaster Indigenous Research Institute

The Indigenous Studies Department and the McMaster Indigenous Research Institute (MIRI) will host the Chair, who will also have opportunities to interact across McMaster’s diverse research communities.  As one of Canada’s leading universities, known for its innovation and research intensiveness, McMaster University offers visiting scholars exciting and unique opportunities for research, education and global collaboration.
McMaster is interested in scholars whose research is aligned with the aspirations of Indigenous scholars, students and communities. This research may enhance existing areas of interdisciplinary expertise as identified by McMaster’s Indigenous scholars and community, including health, environment, language and culture, gender, peace studies and conflict resolution. The strength of Indigenous scholarship at McMaster University is evident in MIRI, a world-class facility recognized for its leadership in the field of Indigenous research. MIRI facilitates and promotes increased visibility of Indigenous Knowledge and methodologies, creating space for dialogue between Western research approaches and Indigenous research collaborations, and facilitating research initiatives with multiple partners by building upon and enhancing existing relationships between McMaster and community networks. McMaster’s Department of Indigenous Studies was established in 2022, building on McMaster’s Indigenous Studies program, in existence for thirty years.

Specializations: Indigenous knowledge, epistemologies, methodologies, across multiple disciplines.

HOW TO Apply

Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law and Legal Issues, University of Alberta

Faculty of Law

The Faculty of Law is the oldest in western Canada and is one of Canada’s top-tier law schools. It has several researchers (faculty, post docs, graduate students) focusing on a range of Indigenous and Aboriginal law topics including contemporary Indigenous law, legal history, legal philosophy, and legal education. Along with the Faculty of Native Studies, the Faculty of Law hosts the Wahkohtowin Law and Governance Lodge, a sustainable, community-engaged, and interdisciplinary unit that aims to support Indigenous communities' goals to identify, articulate, and implement their own laws and governance; develop, gather, amplify, and transfer wise practices, promising methods and research tools; and produce useful and accessible practical governance resources and public legal education. Fulbright scholars will be invited to play an active role in the life of Indigenous-centred research at the University of Alberta and to collaborate with scholars both in the Faculty of Law and in the broader University of Alberta community.

Specializations: North American Indigenous and Aboriginal law with a focus on Indigenous law revitalization and development, research methods, community-engaged research and teaching, as well as comparative and critical perspectives.

HOW TO Apply

Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Native Peoples and Communities, University of Alberta

Faculty of Native Studies

Opened in 1908, the University of Alberta is among a handful of Canada’s largest research intensive universities. The Faculty of Native Studies provides a common ground for contemporary relations that concern native peoples and communities. Faculty members’ research expertise covers Metis resources and law, Inuit and environmental change, Dene and diamonds, urban Aboriginal residents, treaties and land rights, and Aboriginal history, among other topics.

Specializations: Metis resources and law, Inuit and environmental change, Dene and diamonds and urban aboriginal residents.

HOW TO Apply

Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Public Policy and Criminal Justice, University of Guelph

College of Social and Applied Human Sciences

Consistent with our commitment to reconciliation and the indigenization of the University, this research chair will examine the experience of Indigenous persons with the Canadian legal system, with a particular focus on criminal justice policy, as well as the examination of Indigenous legal systems as alternatives to western legal systems. Areas of potential research include legal dimensions of self government, overrepresentation of Indigenous persons in prisons, the experience of Indigenous persons in court, Indigenous judicial processes, the representation of Indigenous persons in the legal profession and on the bench, alternative sentencing remedies, and indigenous law and legal systems. We welcome scholars who study these issues from either a national or comparative perspective.
The University of Guelph is located on the ancestral lands of the Attawandaron people and the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. The University is committed to enhancing and supporting academic programs and research that fosters reconciliation and that serves a growing Indigenous student population. The University is also home to large and very popular undergraduate and graduate programs in Criminal Justice and Public Policy. It boasts faculty that are national and international leaders in the fields of criminal justice studies and law and public policy.

Specializations: Indigenous law and policy; Indigenous persons and the correctional system; Indigenous persons and judicial processes; Alternative judicial and criminal law processes; law and Indigenous self government.

HOW TO APPLY

Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Healthy Planet and People, University of Victoria

Research Centres and Entities

The broad theme, “Healthy People and Planet,” reflects the University of Victoria’s commitment to addressing the urgent challenges facing human wellbeing, oceans, lands, and the economy. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, temperate coastal rainforests and a vibrant and progressive community, the UVic campus is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island in the capital city of British Columbia on the traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ Nations. UVic is ranked #12 in the world by the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking for its deep and ongoing research, education, creative and operational contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. UVic is also internationally known and ranked #1 in North America by the Leiden rankings for a strong culture of interdisciplinary, international and community-based collaboration.
The proposed research of the UVic Fulbright Chair holder can encompass any area of study and practice contributing to health and wellness, ocean and climate science, poverty reduction, smart sustainable cities, water security, ecosystem conservation, climate policy, and so on. Scholars must describe to the adjudicators how their work contributes to this theme and will augment existing or emerging research strengths. The Chair holder will benefit from and contribute to research collaborations with individual scholars and interdisciplinary teams and contribute to supporting the mandates of key research centres or institutes in their area of study and expertise. The expectation is that the Chair will share their expertise and influence leading edge practice within the UVic research enterprise and exploring opportunities for knowledge translation and dissemination within the broader community.

Specialization: Climate; environment; clean tech; energy; sustainability; security; social justice; equity; Indigenous-led scholarship; technology; health; wellbeing; aging; innovation; applied science; impact; public policy; knowledge mobilization; UN Sustainable Development Goals.

HOW TO Apply

Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Justice and Reconciliation, King's University College at Western University

Social Justice and Peace Studies
Department of Religious Studies
Department of History
Centre for Advanced Research in Catholic Thought

King’s University College seeks a Fulbright Scholar qualified to explore concepts of justice and reconciliation, with a special focus on the role of religion and religious institutions in truth and reconciliation processes in the context of colonialism and racism in the Americas or globally.  Historical and theoretical approaches are welcome, but the scholar must show how the research has practical relevance for those working to address contemporary reconciliation and restorative justice initiatives.
The Fulbright Scholar will benefit from working in a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary environment recognized for producing high-quality research into various aspects of the Catholic intellectual tradition.
King’s is a Catholic liberal arts university college formally affiliated with Western University, a top-ranked Canadian research-intensive university. Sincerely seeking to be a place of community and global engagement, Kings' acknowledges in a special way the need to undertake initiatives to promote social justice; to redress historical injustices that have resulted in marginalization and discrimination; to improve access to higher education for historically disadvantaged individuals and communities; and to speak “uncomfortable truths” (Ex Corde Ecclesiae, I.32) about the nature and origins of the problems of our time.

Specializations: Applicants from any Humanities or Social Science discipline are welcome. Applicants should demonstrate how past/ongoing research projects explore aspects of restorative justice and reconciliation, broadly construed.

HOW TO Apply

Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Studies, Vancouver Island University

Office of Indigenous Education and Engagement

Vancouver Island University (VIU) located in Nanaimo, British Columbia has developed a highly regarded Indigenous commitment across its institutional programs and initiatives.  VIU has approximately 1200 Indigenous students (12% of the student population), with a very active and successful Elder-in-Residence program, one of the many services and supports provided by their Office of Indigenous Education and Engagement.  VIU has offered a degree with a major in Indigenous Studies for 25 years and integrates Indigenous perspectives into many other disciplines.  VIU has recently adopted a new Strategic Plan: People, Place, Potential with the following Vision: Welcoming people; Honouring place; Building potential.  Our Ambition is: "Every day, we welcome, support, and inspire all those who study and work at VIU.  In our resarch and through our partnerships, we seek to understand the rich diversity of our region and to encourage the wellbeing of our communities.  We are dedicated to helping our learners and our communities embrace their potential.  We believe that everyone matters here."
Vancouver Island University is looking to further build its Indigenous area of strength and research priority by welcoming a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Indigenous Studies.  In addition to conducting research on a topic of their choice, the Fulbright Chair will be invited to give a minimum of two open audience lectures, attend a small number of special events, and engage with VIU faculty and community members.

Specializations: Indigenous education, reconciliation, indigenization, indigenous engagement.

HOW TO Apply

Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Northern Policy, Yukon University

Indigenous Governance Program
Business Administration Program

Situated on the traditional territories of the fourteen Yukon First Nations, Yukon University is Canada’s first university north of 60. YukonU is guided by the indomitable spirit of the wilderness and millennia of resilience and resourcefulness. Our new Strategic Plan prioritizes the development of northern expertise. The Research Chair in Northern Policy is an essential part of this important work, as we position YukonU to contribute the knowledge and expertise needed to advance the vision and interests of Yukon First Nation governments and support the sustainability of Indigenous self-government and land claim agreements. The Chair will conduct research aligned with the focus of YukonU’s Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Governance (IGD) and/or Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) programs—the first undergraduate degrees offered independently by a postsecondary institution in Canada’s Far North—and set the foundation for potential new program development in the area of Northern Policy. We are looking for someone who is excited about collaborating with faculty members, mentoring new scholars, engaging students in research, and building new possibilities to serve the needs of Canada’s North. In addition to conducting research in an area of relevance to Northern Policy, the Chair will also be invited to teach within the IGD or BBA programs during the 4-month residency, with the potential division of responsibilities being 80% research/20% teaching. The Chair also has an opportunity to deliver a public lecture related to their research and to engage with Yukon University faculty and Yukon First Nations leaders.

Specializations: Indigenous self-governance/self-determination; land claims, modern treaties, and ancestral lifeways; entrepreneurship in remote/rural communities; community economic development, northern decolonization, and decolonial business development northern public policy in the context of climate change; arctic sovereignty

HOW TO Apply

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