Challenging Traditional Academic Paradigms, Respecting Indigenous Paradigms
Dr. Kiera Ladner’s goal is to make a better Canada and a better world by advancing transformative reconciliation in Canada following the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. As Canada Research Chair in Miyo-we'citowin, Indigenous Governance and Digital Sovereignties, she will also provide important support to Indigenous peoples in other countries, especially Australia and New Zealand.
Ladner and her research team are focusing on four projects that engage various topics. They include: missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and two-spirited peoples; the Comparative Constitutional Law and Indigenous Politics project; a participatory archives project on crowd-sourced methods of understanding Indigenous recordkeeping, archiving and digital sovereignties; and a project responding to the need for community-grounded work on decolonization and Indigenous resurgence.
Ladner’s work has its roots in the 1960s, when author, historian and activist Vine Deloria was at the forefront of Indigenist scholarship. Scholars in this area have a responsibility not only to engage in academic ways, using large words and writing important books, but also to be activists and create momentum for social change.
The work done by Ladner and her team will represent the next generation of research concerning the move toward Indigenous resurgence transformative reconciliation, both in Canada and abroad. It will also provide important, publicly accessible research products, such as digital archives.