Grad student profiles

Themes: Evolution and ecology & Space, place, knowledge and power

I am an MA student under the supervision of Dr. Duncan McLaren and Dr. Tommy Happynook. I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to live play and learn on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen, Songhees, Esquimalt, and WSÁNEC peoples.

I completed a BA in Archaeology at Simon Fraser University in 2019 with an interest in the Pacific Northwest Coast. My practical experience in archaeology comes from working across British Columbia as a consulting archaeologist since 2018. Through the world of CRM, I have been fortunate enough to learn from and work alongside many Indigenous individuals and groups.

My research focuses on archaeological evidence of human occupation at caa-caa-tsii-as (also known as Carnation Creek), the traditional land of the Happynook family. My work is being conducted at the request of Dr. Tommy Happynook, and with the support of the Huu-ay-aht chief and council.

Themes: Inequality, Culture, Health

Coming soon.

Themes: Visual anthropology and materiality

Coming soon.

Themes: Space, place, knowledge and power

Jada Gannon-Day is an M.A. student in Anthropology and CSPT. In Jada’s research project, she focuses on the surveillance of migrant workers in British Columbia, looking at the parallel processes adopted by employers and the state. Jada completed her undergraduate degree at Carleton University, with an honours project centred on the impact of data extractive capitalism and neoliberal privatization on social reproduction. Since 2021, Jada has worked as a Digital Ethics Researcher in the Transgender Media Lab. Jada’s research interests include social reproduction and Marxist feminism, Marxist theories of labour and surveillance, platform capitalism and data commodification, and critical security studies. 

Themes: Space, place, knowledge and power

Positionality Statement: I am a settler and uninvited guest to the lands of the lək̓ʷəŋən and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples of the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. My ancestry is British from both my mother’s and father’s sides. I have lived in lək̓ʷəŋən territory for the last twenty-seven years; before this, I lived throughout much of Turtle Island due to being part of a military family.

Research: In collaboration with Dr. Brian Thom, my research focuses on the integrative theme of space, place, knowledge, and power. I completed my Honours BA at the University of Victoria (2022) in anthropology with a focus on Indigenous food systems and the connection to an ancient undocumented intertidal stone fish trap at ȾEL ̧IȽĆE / c̓əl̓íɫč (Cordova Bay, Victoria BC), in W̱SÁNEĆ peoples’ territory. My Master’s research will continue working at ȾEL ̧IȽĆE with Tsawout First Nations and focus on the W̱SÁNEĆ ‘right to hunt and fish as formerly’ stated in the South Saanich Treaty of 1852, which ȾEL ̧IȽĆE is part.

Interests: Outside of my academic work, I volunteer at the Vancouver Island Sexual Assault Centre. I love to bake and cook, where I work with herbs and the healing qualities of food. I teach and practice yoga learning from my teacher Yogrishi Vishvketu in Rishikesh, India, where I was given the name Devika. I am an Aunty to my two wonderful nieces. I believe that we are always and foremost students in life; even when we think we know something, there is always more to learn and understand about ourselves, our fellow humans, and the worlds surrounding us.

Themes: Evolution and ecology

Hello, my name is Alexis, I am a master's student under Dr. Allison Murray and Dr. Stephanie Calce. My research interests are in human skeletal anatomy, hereditary health disorders, pathology, and taphonomy.

I was raised in South Dakota, U.S., but have spent the past six years in the Pacific Northwest. I completed a B.A. in Anthropology and a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Health and Society at Washington State University in 2024. Throughout my undergraduate career I served as a teaching assistant for the Human Osteology and Forensic Anthropology labs, along with multiple psychology courses. I am also incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to study skeletal collections in Butrint, Albania the summer before beginning study at UVIC. 

Outside of classes, I love to spend time outdoors with my fiancée, enjoying the beauty of the PNW, something I am excited to do more of in Victoria. I also love to bake, craft, do puzzles, travel, and see live music. 

Themes: Inequality, Culture & Health

Hello, my name is Sophia (she/her), and I am a multiply neurodivergent MA student exploring aspects of academic ableism, neurodivergent experiences in academia, and accessible education. My research aims to demystify and destigmatize neurodivergent ways of learning and being and promote inclusive educational approaches in academia. I am working under the guidance of Dr. Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier (supervisor, Department of Anthropology) and Professor Teresa Dawson (Department of Geography).

I am of primarily mixed-European, settler ancestry and spent much of my childhood living in the traditional lands of Syilx, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, and Coast Salish peoples. I was raised mainly in the Salish Sea on Salt Spring Island, but now live, study, and grow as a visitor in the traditional territories of lək̓ʷəŋən and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples, Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.

I completed my BA in Anthropology over eight years at three institutions (University of British Columbia Okanagan, Camosun College, and the University of Victoria). Being the curious neurodivergent that I am, I have explored a variety of academic interests, from marine biology to marketing, but mainly focused on Anthropology, Linguistics, Indigenous Studies, and Geography.

Outside academia, I have worked as a sea kayak guide, outdoor educator, wild salmon advocate, fishmonger, retail expert and more. I enjoy cycling through a variety of hobbies, adventuring with my husband and puppy, and collecting fun facts!

Themes: Visual anthropology and materiality & Inequality, Culture and Health

Hi there, my name is Joloni Ginny Makovnyka, I go by Ginny, and I’m very happy to be starting my master’s program under Alex B-F’s supervision this year. I currently live on Salt Spring Island, the traditional territory of the Hul’qumi’num and SENĆOŦEN-speaking peoples, and will be doing my field research here. My intention for my thesis is to engage with other queer/neuroqueer folks on Salt Spring and share and relate our experiences of home, belonging, safety and community on this island. I will also examine these constructs- “home,” belonging,” etc- from critical feminist, queer/neuroqueer and indigenous theoretical perspectives. I am interested in intersubjective relationality and ethical considerability and am often wondering what the limits of these states of being are. When I’m not doing that, I enjoy knitting and crocheting, doing yoga. playing with my kitten, doing home renovation projects, learning how to kayak, and listening to podcasts, especially ones featuring my favourite stand-up comedians, such as Hannah Gadsby, Maria Bamford, and Tig Notaro (look them up if you haven’t already!)

While doing my undergrad here at UVic, I was honoured to have a paper published in the Arbutus Review titled “Opium Poppy Agriculture and Consumption Contextualizing its Functions as Food, Medicine, and Narcotic" which can be read here. The paper was originally written under the supervision of Margo Matwychuck for her Cultural Anthropology: Politics of Food and Hunger course in the winter term of 2020.

Themes: Evolution and ecology & Space, place, knowledge and power

I received my undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Classical Studies with a minor in Archaeology from University of Idaho in 2009.  My first job was in an archaeology lab cataloguing Idaho’s largest archaeological excavation, a late 1800’s historic site in Sandpoint, Idaho.  I interned as lead diver on a project surveying for a late 1600’s Spanish Manilla Galleon known as the Beeswax Wreck off the coast of Oregon in 2013, and also worked on an underwater CRM survey on the Seattle waterfront.  After 2013 I returned home to Alaska and began a career in Alaskan Cultural Resource Management. I’ve worked north of the Arctic Circle in Coldfoot, AK, as well as in Fairbanks, Anchorage, on the Kenai and finally closer to home in Southeast Alaska.  Most recently I worked for the US Forest Service on Prince of Wales Island, utilizing paleo shoreline modeling to predict the elevations of Pleistocene era shorelines in SE Alaska to test for sites from that time period.

My research interest lies in the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene time periods of migration and the peopling of the Americas.  I’m interested in utilizing site formation models and paleo environmental reconstruction to identify and test high potential ancient tidelines in search of cultural evidence.

Themes: Visual anthropology and materiality

I am a Master’s student studying under Dr. Andrea Walsh and Dr. Tommy Happynook. I received my undergraduate degree from UVIC with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Anthropology and a minor in Museum Studies. Most of my interests are within museums as sites for intersectionality and dynamic identities to interact and influence the power of sharing knowledge.

Studying in a program and working in institutions which both have heavy colonial roots, I want to explore how decolonization can be achieved or if it can be achieved. I want to utilize community based research to listen to the lived experiences of people and apply their knowledge to achieve a museum which better reflects and serves the community.

Over the past two years, I have gained significant experience within museums by working as the Collections and Exhibits Manager at the Sooke Region Museum. Additionally, I have been working alongside Dr. Walsh and Dr. Happynook with the Huu-ay-aht Nation on a Traditional Name Reclamation project for the community. Both have given tremendous insight on working within a museum and a Nation.

Themes: Space, place, knowledge and power

I am a PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr. Brian Thom in the Ethnographic Mapping Lab. As a research associate with a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), I conduct ethnographic research examining the relationships between the National Park Service and traditionally associated Indigenous communities on projects throughout the Pacific West region of the United States. My research centers on the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with particular emphasis on the lands occupied by Yosemite National Park – the ancestral homeland of the Miwuk/Me-Wuk, Numu, Nim, and Chukchansi peoples who have lived there from time immemorial.

My interests lie in exploring ways researchers might bridge the gap between academic objectives and the legal mandates of land management agencies in collaboration with associated Indigenous communities. I address issues relating to state occupation and management of Indigenous lands and how colonial narratives, methods of mapping, and management decisions have shaped the landscape, public perception, and interpretation. I draw upon scholarship in political ontology, critical geography, Indigenous theory to reconceptualize mapping within multi-paradigmatic contexts characterized by incommensurable ontological frameworks and asymmetrical power relations.

Publications

Deur, Douglas and Rochelle Bloom. 2024. “On Fire and Water: The Intersection of Wetlands and Burning Strategies in Managing the Anthropogenic Plant Communities.” In Natural Science and Indigenous Knowledge: The Americas Experience, edited by Edward A. Johnson and Susan M. Arlidge, pp. 201-232. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009416665.008

Bloom, Rochelle and Douglas Deur. 2021. “Through a Forest Wilderness: Native American Environmental Management at Yosemite and Contested Conservation Values in America’s National Parks.” In Public Lands in the Western U.S.: Place and Politics in the Clash between Public and Private, edited by Kathleen M. Sullivan and James H. McDonald, pp. 151-173. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/anth_fac/240/

Bloom, Rochelle and Douglas Deur. 2020. “Reframing Native Knowledge, Co-Managing Native Landscapes: Ethnographic Data and Tribal Engagement at Yosemite National Park.” In Parks and Protected Areas: Mobilizing Knowledge for Effective Decision-Making, special issue of Land, edited by Glen Hvenegaard, Elizabeth Halpenny, and Jill Bueddefeld. https://doi.org/10.3390/land9090335

Deur, Douglas and Rochelle Bloom. 2020. “Fire, Native Ecological Knowledge, and the Enduring Anthropogenic Landscapes of Yosemite Valley.” In The Routledge Handbook of Indigenous Environmental Knowledge, edited by Thomas F. Thornton and Shonil A. Bhagwat, pp. 299-313. Abingdon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315270845-26

Themes: Culture, health and inequality & Space, place, knowledge and power

I am a doctoral candidate currently conducting federally-funded (SSHRC) fieldwork under the supervision of Dr. Daromir Rudnyckyj. 

My anthropological interests focus broadly on the Latter-day Saint (LDS/Mormon) population of southern Alberta. Currently, I am interested in ways that LDS cultural practices and economic practices inform each other in Cardston, Alberta. My research aims to identify an LDS economic subject, the ways that this subject is created through official institutional discourse, and the ways that this subject is creatively negotiated in the lives of Latter-day Saints themselves.

My Master's thesis addressed inter-generational narratives of acculturation and transnational identity construction as told by Latin American immigrants to the Greater Toronto Area. I pulled on theories of performative identity to highlight how perceived notions of what it meant to be Canadian vs. Mexican, for example, resulted in conflict as individuals and families attempted to perform these identities, which often were conceived of as being in opposition to each other. I received my MA from the University of Guelph in 2015.

Themes: Space, place, knowledge and power

My name is Semyon Drozdetckii, and I am a first-year PhD student in the Anthropology Department and the Cultural, Social, and Political Thought (CSPT) program. My research interests focus on concepts of space and place within different knowledge systems, with a particular emphasis on Indigenous Knowledge. I am also interested in how views of space, place, and their cultural significance change within immigrant or relocated communities, especially in rural areas.

I am working with Dr. Tatiana Degai as my academic advisor, with whom I also collaborated on my master’s thesis research at the University of Northern Iowa. My research involved recovering historical Indigenous geographic Knowledge of the Itelmen People of the Kamchatka Peninsula from ethnographic sources written by Western scholars. Specifically, we examined the records of the Second Kamchatka Expedition (1733–1743) and the work of Stepan Krasheninnikov, extracting references to geographic objects with cultural significance for the Itelmen people and creating a map of these places for community use. At UVic, I intend to expand this research by focusing on the historical and contemporary spatial ontologies within Itelmen and Indigenous epistemologies.

Additionally, I am interested in the rural community in the Southern Urals region, consisting of descendants of settlers who migrated from Belarus in the mid-19th century, where I also have ancestral roots. I aim to explore how the traditions and culture of this community adapted to the new environment, evolving while retaining distinctive features that set it apart from other rural communities in Russia.

Themes: Visual anthropology and materiality

I am a Ph.D. student working under the supervision of Dr. Ann Stahl. My interests are largely in archaeology, cultural anthropology, conservation and protection of cultural heritage, landscape and architecture.

During my doctoral studies, I would explore the concepts, methods, and techniques of Visual Anthropology and Materiality and how these can inform and shape my research into the indigenous architecture of Banda, Ghana. The architectural landscape is one aspect of the Ghanaian culture that has and is experiencing drastic transformations and while we believe in the dynamism of culture, it is still important to preserve some parts that may be considered as their ‘tradition’ or ‘heritage’. My research will be part of Dr. Ann Stahl’s partnership project in Ghana – IAfF and Banda Through Time.

I hold a BA and MPhil in Archaeology from the University of Ghana. My MPhil thesis focused on building processes, settlement, and compound layouts and their relationship with the social organization of the people of Old Buipe, in northern Ghana. My research and studies were funded by the Gonja Archaeological Project, a project based at Old Buipe that I participated in from 2015-2017. I also worked as a TA and Graduate Assistant at the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, and a Researcher at the Leventis Digital Resource Centre.

I love to read fictional novels, some of my favorites are from African writers and I love arts widely, which is why I volunteer with Benpaali Young Filmmakers’ Festival where we provide young talented people with the platform to share stories that matter.  

Themes: Evolution and ecology

I am of British and Icelandic settler ancestry and grew up in the Southern Gulf Islands – the lands and waters of Coast Salish peoples. Since I began my undergraduate degree at UVic in 2013, I have resided as an uninvited visitor on the ancestral and unceded territories of the Esquimalt, Lekwungen, Songhees, and WSÁNEĆ peoples. As a fourth-generation descendant of a fishing family, my family’s direct involvement in the commercial fishing industry has been a driving force and has shaped my research approach. Since 2017, I have had the privilege of witnessing and working as an archaeologist and researcher in Nuu-chah-nulth Territories alongside contemporary rights holders and descendants of the original, deep-time leaders responsible for managing the relationships between people, lands, and waters. As I move through the world as a learner and teacher, I strive to uphold the protocols, knowledge, and authority that guide me in my approach to research and as an engaged citizen.

Weaving archaeological and ecological evidence with Nuu-chah-nulth governance principles and knowledge, my NSERC, SSHRC, and PICS-funded research considers how archaeological approaches are supporting cultural renewal and community well-being through the extension of harvest information. By comparing size-at-harvest and growth rate data from archaeological clamshell assemblages against contemporary ecological conditions, this research contributes much-needed baseline data to inform community harvests and management objectives that support Nuu-chah-nulth-led food sovereignty initiatives. Through this work, I am documenting the intertwined and millennia-old relationships that link humans, shellfish and sea otters, information that is urgently needed to counteract the erasure of Nuu-chah-nulth peoples in contemporary sea otter management and reframe biodiversity conservation as a social justice issue, which is inseparable from the ongoing legacies of colonialism.

Publications: 

Hillis, D., K.M. Barclay, E. Foster, H.M. Kobluk, T. Vollman, A.K. Salomon, C.T. Darimont, & I. McKechnie. (2024) Estimating size-at-harvest from Indigenous archaeological clamshell assemblages in Coastal British Columbia. FACETS 9(1): 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2023-0128

Salomon, A., Okamoto, D., Wilson, K.B., Happynook, H.T., Wickaninnish., Mack, W.A., Davidson, S.H.A., Guujaaw, G., Humchitt, W.W.H., Happynook, T.M., Cox, W.C., Gillette, H.F., Christiansen, N.S., Dragon, D., Kobluck, H., Lee, L., Tinker, T.M., Silver, J., Armitage, D., McKechnie, I., MacNeil, A., Hillis, D., Muhl, E., Gregr, E., Commander, C., & A. Augustine. (2023). Disrupting and diversifying the values, voices, and governance principles that shape biodiversity science and management. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 1881(378). https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0196

Hillis, D., Gustas, R., Pauly, D., Cheung, W., Salomon, A., & McKechnie, I. (2022). A paleothermometer of ancient indigenous fisheries reveal increases in mean temperature of the catch over five millennia. Environmental Biology of fishes, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01243-7

Hillis, D., McKechnie, I., Guiry, E., St. Claire, D. E., & Darimont, C. T. (2020). Ancient dog diets on the Pacific Northwest Coast: zooarchaeological and stable isotope modelling evidence from Tseshaht territory and beyond. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-71574-x

Themes: Culture, health and inequality

My SSHRC-funded doctoral research project examines the experiences of pregnancy loss and reproductive disruptions among Punjabi Canadian women and families. Supervised by Dr. Lisa Mitchell, I'm using ethnographic methodology to understand how migration, diasporic lifeways and cultural identity affect the health and reproductive lives of Punjabi-Canadians who must negotiate belonging within the Indian community, and within wider Canadian society, in their practices around reproduction, gender, family, and media.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (2011) and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and English (2013) from the University of Manitoba, I went on to complete a SSHRC-funded MA (2016) under the advisement of Dr. Stacie Burke at the University of Manitoba. I conducted an ethnographic study on narratives of psychological distress by post-secondary students on an anonymous social media app, based on theories of stigma and online self-disclosure. Stigma and secrecy figure in pregnancy loss as they do in mental health and I believe that research on these topics can help demystify and destigmatize them, thereby helping to improve access to healthcare and support for individuals and families.

I have also carried out a number of community-based research projects in Victoria, BC, and provide workshops and training on: diversity, anti-oppression and anti-racism; career planning, resumés and job skills; social media and networking; reproductive health and justice; and, cultural competency in the community.

Research Interests: anthropology of health, body and reproduction; migration and diasporas; South Asian studies; social media and online social networking; online ethnography and digital methods.

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AnuLotay

Themes: Visual anthropology and materiality

Hi, I’m Mark McIntyre (he/him). I’m a cultural anthropology PhD student working with Dr. Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier.

My work engages with the processes of deindustrialization and post-industrialization in Canada and how communities left to live in, and around, industrial ruin repurpose industrial spaces while participating in world-making projects. How is future imagined in communities that are navigating processes of deindustrialization?

My interests intersect with visual anthropology and materiality, infrastructure and media studies, inequality and health, public anthropology, migration, and multimodal ethnographic methodologies. Regarding visual anthropology, I believe that incorporating arts-based practices, such as soundscape, video, photography, and others into our ethnographic toolkit helps to conceptualize aspects of places and experiences that we may not otherwise consider and serves to access emotional, sensorial, and subjective knowledges.

I completed a SSHRC funded MA at the University of Victoria (2018) which focused on how Cape Breton migrant labourers and their families eke out a living in the marginalized community of Glace Bay nearly 20 years after the last coal mines and steel plants closed. This work was the result of ethnographic fieldwork on Cape Breton Island and also incorporated elements of digital ethnography as a large part of the project was about understanding how migrant labourers and their families perform family and community online across long distances.

I happily hold a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship and I am thankful to be able to continue my work regarding deindustrialization in Canada.

Themes: Space, place, knowledge and power

I am a doctoral student in cultural anthropology under the supervision of Dr. Daromir Rudnyckyj from the Department of Anthropology and Dr. Paul Bramadat from the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society. My anthropological interests focus broadly on how Protestant Christians in Canada negotiate their relationships to the broader cultures in which they participate. In this vein, my current research explores the intersection of modern postural yoga and Christianity in British Columbia. What can a hybrid practice like Christian Yoga tell us about how modern religious subjects navigate various sources of authority?

I hold a BA in Linguistics and Cultural Studies from Seattle Pacific University and an MSc in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Leuven in Belgium. My MSc research was my first glimpse into the world of Christian yoga, where I explored how Christian yoga practitioners in Washington State circumvent spiritual concerns surrounding the practice and manage yoga’s perceived connections with Hinduism. As a participant-observer in the yoga world, I also learned how to touch my toes for the first time.

Publications

Mernaugh Bergman, L. (2024). Disentangling Yoga: A Christian Take on a “Universal” Practice. Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, 37(1). https://doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1909

Themes: Evolution and ecology

I am a PhD student working under the supervision of Dr. Ammie Kalan in the Great Ape Behaviour Lab. I received my Bachelor of Arts and Science from McGill University in 2021 with major concentrations in biology and anthropology, and a particular focus on archaeology. I joined the GAB lab in 2021 to conduct my MA research on chimpanzee accumulative stone throwing and I am looking forward to continuing this work in a PhD starting in September 2023. In my research, I take a landscape approach to study the chimpanzee accumulative stone throwing behaviour from an archaeological perspective. I am interested in investigating the transmission of this rare behaviour and its potential symbolic significance.  

Themes: Evolution and ecology & Visual anthropology and materiality

Hello! I am a new PhD student here. I was born in Ottawa on Anishinabe Algonquin territory. I have always been interested in human biological and sociocultural evolution.

I completed my undergraduate degree at Carleton University in Theoretical Linguistics and Anthropology, with an almost-minor in Biology, hoping to study the evolution of human language in some respect. I completed my MA at Carleton in applied Linguistics. I also have schooling in visual arts from the Ottawa school of Art.

I will be studying signs in Palaeolithic cave art and stone tools in Europe, supervised by Dr. April Nowell and Dr. Christian Bentz. Through the use of, and contribution to, online databases of sites and signs, I hope to possibly gain insight into a number of things, including the development of written language, human cognitive development, and more accurate dating of sites and objects. I hope to make use of, and potentially contribute to, online visual databases of sites and signs that were established in previous research.

Themes: Visual anthropology and materiality

Hello!

I’m Adriana Fabiola Sanchez Balderas, but I use my middle name Fabiola. In the past years I have been working in the areas of visual and multimodal anthropology. I use drawing as a research method and as a means of communicating with varied audiences, including the research participants. I have studied with Dr. Andrea Walsh as a student in the Visual Stories Lab. At the end of 2024 I completed my master’s degree in Anthropology and I’m embarking on my PhD. as of January 2025, in the Department of Anthropology, Visual and Materiality theme speciality.

My current research focuses on fire technologies (function, cooking and lightening, technology, symbolism, and interpretation) and explores how anthropological approaches to knowledge from oral stories can be understood through graphic narratives with a sensory approach.

Academia: https://uvic.academia.edu/AdrianaFabiolaSanchez

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fabiola-Sanchez-Balderas

Themes: Visual anthropology and materiality

My name is Graydon Smith. I grew up in rural eastern Ontario, outside of St. Andrew’s West. I completed my BA at Trent University in 2022, where I majored in Anthropology with a minor in Sociology. After completing my MA in Anthropology at UVic, as of Fall 2024, I am entering the PhD program, again under the supervision of Dr. Boudreault-Fournier.

My MA research used visual and ethnographic methods to consider Cuban life in the present day, examining themes of hope and the future in a period of dynamic change. Cuba remains in flux following the pandemic and various political changes, which have resulted in a current economic crisis and large waves of emigration. My fieldwork, conducted in Santiago de Cuba during the summer of 2023, was guided by the integrative theme of Visual Anthropology and Materiality which shaped my MA thesis, Reframing Crisis: Hope and Future-making in Contemporary Cuban Photographs.

In upcoming research, I plan to further explore the visual arts in Cuba, considering how factors including the economic crisis, political constraints, and material access shape the lives of professional artists and their means of expression.

In my personal life, I enjoy photography and other visual arts, listening to too much music, medium format photography, reading, bouldering, and snowboarding. I also make dream pop music as a member of Portrait Ghosts, where I pretend to know how to play guitar.

Themes: Space, place, knowledge and power & Culture, health and inequality

I am Nenets and Russian and grew up in a 1000-people reindeer herding village in the Russian Arctic. My grandfather comes from a Nenets nomadic reindeer herding family and is a residential school survivor. I have degrees in law and human geography. I am learning my native language because the older generation in our family switched to Russian after residential school and didn't teach the children their language. Learning Nenets has been an amazing journey.

My research interest is Indigenous Arctic communities and their cultural resurgence.

I love hiking, picking berries and mushrooms, fishing, making different art objects, and painting. Also, I love therapy and self-reflection, talking to people, and observing.

Instagram: @polinasyadey

Themes: Culture, health and inequality & Space, place, knowledge and power & Visual anthropology and materiality

Research & Interest

wâciye, nitisiyigason Lydia. My name is Lydia (they/them), I am a Two-Spirit Bungi-Metis and settler person registered with the Metis Nations of both BC and Greater Victoria. I work in the areas of Indigenous and Metis studies, audio-visual and sensory anthropology, and community-engaged participatory research. I completed my honours and master's degree in anthropology at UVic supervised by Dr. Alex Boudreault-Fournier, Dr. Christine Loignon, and Dr. Rob Hancock. I have also held staff positions at UVic, most recently the Tri-Faculty Indigenous Resurgence Coordinator. I am interested in decolonizing research and post-secondary practices and systems. I am also interested in Two-Spirit, trans, and queer Indigenous and Metis studies.

In my doctoral research, I am working with 2SLGBTQIA+ Metis people to collect and create 2SLGBTQIA+ Metis stories, art, and resources to contribute to the reclamation, revitalization, and resurgence of 2SLGBTQIA+ Metis teachings, language, community roles, and cultures of acceptance. I will collaborate with community members to create content for a website/digital museum and archive that will host and share our knowledge, culture, and joy. Off campus, I am a beadwork artist, drag performer, and singer-songwriter. I am a Vanier scholar, am affiliated with the Two-Spirit Dry Lab and the Chair in Transgender Studies. I am also involved in Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer ceremony and leadership at the regional, provincial, and national level.

Publications

Articles:

Toorenburgh, Lydia and Holly Reid. 2023. "Queering Collective Dreaming: Weaving Métis Futures of Belonging." Pawaatamihk: A Journal of Métis Thinkers 1(1): 1-28. https://doi.org/10.36939/pawaatamihk/vol1no1/art22

Toorenburgh, Lydia, and Loren Gaudet. 2024. “Doing Our Work in a Good Way: A Framework of Collaboration and a Case for Indigenous-Only Writing Classrooms.” Discourse and Writing/Rédactologie 34 (August): 200–225. https://doi.org/10.31468/dwr.1049 

Forthcoming:

Toorenburgh, Lydia. “mâmawi-kiskinohamakosiwin: Coming to Understand Together.” Pawaatamihk: A Journal of Métis Thinkers.

Toorenburgh, Lydia. “Methods in Motion: Walking-with Indigenous and Western approaches as Métis methodology.” Métis Methodologies, edited by Laura Forsythe and Jenifer Markides. Peter Lang Publishing.

Theses:

Toorenburgh, Lydia. 2023.“Walking-With Wellness: Understanding Intersections of Indigenous Literacy and Health Through Podcasting,” Master’s thesis, University of Victoria. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/14716 

Toorenburgh, Lydia. 2018.“‘Nitawâhtâw’ Searching for a Métis Approach to Audio-Visual Anthropology: Cultural, Linguistic, Methodological, and Ethical Considerations,” Honours thesis, University of Victoria. https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/9435

Reviews:

Toorenburgh, Lydia. 2020. “RAVEN (De)Briefs Podcast: Indigenous Law in Action.” BC Studies 207: 128-29. https://bcstudies.com/new_media_review/raven-debriefs-podcast-indigenous-law-in-action/ 

Media:

Walking-With Wellness Podcast: Indigenous Health and Literacy. 2023. Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lydia_toorenburgh/sets/walking-with-wellness

Themes: Culture, health and inequality & Space, place, knowledge and power

My name is Mavis Underwood of Tsawout Community, WSANEC Nation. My interest in pursuing a PHD direction at this point in my life is related to accumulated knowledge, experience and teachings as a WSANEC Woman growing up in part of our homelands on the Saanich Peninsula. My work has been rich and varied. My learning quest has been to promote betterment in opportunities for First Nations and to influence needed social change, particularly in areas of education, human and social development, health, and housing. The themes for my work embrace Culture, Health and Inequality and Space, Place, Knowledge and Power. I am quite certain I will overlap many themes the more immersed I get into the academic stream.

My initial experience with UVIC was completion of a B.A. in Child and Youth Care in 1978, and a Professional Teachers Certification and Certification in Sexual Abuse Counsellors Training in the 80's. I completed my M.A. in Indigenous Governance in May 2018. I am hoping to incorporate lived experience and the guidance of teachings to influence and refine intersections of Indigenous Knowledge, History, and Encounter with Anthropology. Most recently I have been emphasizing the impact of history of ancient village sites, ancestral remains, and artifact remains in revitalizing history of Indigenous First Nations life, civilization in fulsome traditional homelands. Personally, for me, I want to deepen the understanding of the Truth of the extent of the WSANEC homelands that include land and marine territory, and history of prior use and occupation reinforced by numerous defenses of Douglas Treaty and the Saanichton Bay Marina Case pf 1988.