Contact Us
Connect With the Interior Salishan Studies Centre
Whether you’re a student, community member, scholar, or potential partner, we welcome your questions, ideas, and interest in the Interior Salishan Studies Centre. Please reach out to us using the information below.
General Inquiries
Interior Salishan Studies Centre
Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
UBC Okanagan Campus
XSS (x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn) Building
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7
Canada
Media & Speaking Requests
Members of the media who wish to speak to Jeannette Armstrong can email her directly; please cc’ Patty Wellborn and Sue Sterling-Bur.
Partnership & Funding Inquiries
To discuss collaboration opportunities or support the Centre’s work: Sue Sterling-Bur.
Find our people
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Jeannette Armstrong | Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Indigenous Knowledges, Indigenous Studies | jeannette.armstrong@ubc.ca | ART 274B
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Indigenous philosophies; Okanagan Syilx thought and environmental ethics coded into Syilx literatures.
Courses & Teaching: Indigenous perspectives; traditional ecological methodologies
Kerrie Charnley, PhD | Associate Professor of Teaching | English and Cultural Studies, Indigenous Knowledges, Nłeʔkepmx Language Fluency, Nsyilxcn Language Fluency (BNLF), St’at’imc Language Fluency | kerrie.charnley@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Indigenous Epistemologies, Salishan Intellectual Traditions and Literatures (Interior Salish Literatures and Coast Salish Literatures), Indigenous Literatures, Indigenous Storywork, Indigenous Oral Traditions, Indigenous Literacies, Indigenous Land/Ocean-Based Pedagogies, Indigenous Languages, Multimodal and Multi-sensory Literacies, Cognitive Maps and Geography, Rhetoric, Discourse Analysis, A/r/tography and Arts-Based Research, Autoethnography and Memoir, Mixed Genre Writing, Writing Education
Courses & Teaching: English 114: Studies in Composition: Aboriginal Perspectives, English 387/Cultural Studies 350: Indigenous Literatures: Intellectual Tradition, and other English and Cultural Studies courses. CORH 206: Communicating Indigeneity in the Certificate in Communication and Rhetoric.
Bill Cohen | Assistant Professor | Education, Indigenous Knowledges | billy.cohen@ubc.ca
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: My research interests are extended family pedagogies informed by traditional Indigenous knowledge: particularly a Syilx children-centred model informed by capti̓kʷɬ stories to transform schools to be more appreciative and sustaining of place-based relationships and cultural and ecological diversity.
Helen Copeland | Community Liaison and Instructional Coordinator | St’at’imc Language Fluency | helen.copeland@ubc.ca
Alanaise Ferguson | Associate Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Indigenous Knowledges, Indigenous Studies, Psychology | alanaise.ferguson@ubc.ca | LM4 627
Graduate student supervisor. Considering Clinical Psychology graduate students only for September 2026 intake.
Research Interests: Qualitative, Mixed-Methods, Community-Engaged, and Decolonizing Research Methodologies; Applied research in First Nations Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) mental health, healing, and well-being; Oral First Nations Language Documentation and Revitalization; Intervention evaluation research in trauma repair and addictions reduction.
Courses & Teaching: Indigenous Research Methodologies; Residential Schools and Reconciliation; Indigenous Research Methods.
Ian Foulds | Associate Professor | Electrical, Indigenous Knowledges | ian.foulds@ubc.ca
Research Interests: Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS); Microfluidics; Microfabrication
Courses & Teaching: ENGR 353 Semiconductor Devices; APSC 179 Linear Algebra for Engineers
Monica Carolina Good, PhD (On Leave) | Associate Professor of Teaching | Global Studies, Indigenous Knowledges, Languages and World Literatures, Spanish | monica.good@ubc.ca | CCS 367
Research Interests: Spanish Culture and Literature; Indigenous literature; Indigenous language reclamation and revitalization (specifically for the case of Mexico); Indigenous peoples rights to court interpretation (Case of Oaxaca).
Courses & Teaching: Beginner level Spanish 101 and 102, Intermediate level Spanish 202
Dallas Good Water | Community Liaison and Instructional Coordinator | Community, Culture and Global Studies, Nsyilxcn Language Fluency (BNLF) | dallas.goodwater@ubc.ca | ART 250
Evan J. Habkirk | Lecturer | Indigenous Studies | ehabkirk@mail.ubc.ca | LM4 627
Research Interests: Indigenous people in colonial militaries; traditional and contemporary concepts of warriorship, Indigenous encounters with public history and museums, residential schools and reconciliation, and Indigenous education
Allison Hargreaves, PhD | Associate Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, English, English and Cultural Studies, Global Studies, Indigenous Knowledges | allison.hargreaves@ubc.ca | CCS 331
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Indigenous literatures and theory; critical settler colonial studies; place-based approaches to literary and cultural studies; decolonization and reconciliation as discourse and material practice.
Courses & Teaching: ENGL 154 – Indigenous Narrative; ENGL 234/ CULT 250 – Foundations: Indigenous Literature; ENGL 385/ CULT 351 – Settler Studies, Literature, and Culture; ENGL 473/ CULT 450 –Studies in Indigenous Literature and Criticism
ENGL 531A – Place and Power
Laura Hockman | Adjunct Instructor | Indigenous Knowledges, Social Work | laura.hockman@ubc.ca
Rachelle Hole | Professor | Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship (CIIC), Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Faculty of Health and Social Development, Indigenous Knowledges, Social Work | rachelle.hole@ubc.ca | 250-807-8741 | ARTS 368
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Rachelle’s research programme is informed by two complementary streams: 1) a substantial focus on the socio-cultural practices that promote social inclusion and equity, and 2) a methodological focus on community based participatory research methods. Critical disability studies is central to the first stream informing Rachelle’s research in the area of community living and intellectual disability.
Peter Hutchinson, PhD | Assistant Professor | Community, Culture and Global Studies, Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Indigenous Knowledges, Indigenous Studies | peter.hutchinson@ubc.ca | LM4 626
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Indigenous Population and Public Health; Social Determinants of Health; Cultural Safety; Self-Determination; Health Equity; Health Promotion
Courses & Teaching: Indigenous Perspectives on Health; Indigenous Perspectives on Health and Physical Activity; Indigenous Population and Public Health
Mandy Na’zinek Jimmie | Assistant Professor of Teaching | Nłeʔkepmx Language Fluency | mandy.jimmie@ubc.ca | 250.378.7753
Research Interests: Nłeʔkepmx Language, Worldview and Way of Being; other Interior Salish languages; Indigenous Language Revitalization
Gabrielle Legault | Assistant Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Indigenous Knowledges, Indigenous Studies | gabrielle.legault@ubc.ca | LM4 628
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Métis in British Columbia; Métis history, identity and nationalism; Indigenous Identity and Representation; Place Identity; Decolonization; Inter-Indigenous Relations and Treaties; Critical Indigenous Studies; Indigenous geographies.
Courses & Teaching: Introduction to Decolonization; Métis People and Perspectives; Indigenous Studies Theory and Methodology; Indigenous Culture, Heritage, and Intellectual Property.
John Lyon | Assistant Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Indigenous Knowledges, Nsyilxcn Language Fluency (BNLF) | john.lyon@ubc.ca | ART 250
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Interior Salish Languages; Language Documentation and Revitalization; Salish Linguistics
Courses & Teaching: Nsyilxcn Fluency Program courses; Interior Salish linguistics
Virginie Magnat, PhD | Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, English and Cultural Studies, Global Studies, Indigenous Knowledges, Languages and World Literatures | virginie.magnat@ubc.ca | CCS 368
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Performance Studies; Qualitative Research; Arts-Based Inquiry; Indigenous Ethico-Onto-Epistemologies; Collaborative Eco-Cultural Practices for Collective Healing and Renewal; Occitan Language Revitalization and Cultural Resurgence.
Courses & Teaching: Performance Studies; Qualitative Research; World Performance Traditions; Experimental and Intercultural Theatre; Physically-Based Performance Practice; Body-Voice Integration; Traditional Singing.
Rachel McGraw | Sessional Lecturer | Anthropology, Indigenous Studies | rachel.mcgraw@ubc.ca | Online
Research Interests: Language endangerment, revitalization, and documentation; linguistic racism and discrimination; language and social justice; sociolinguistics; linguistic diversity and variation; Totonacan languages (Mexico).
Courses & Teaching: Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology, Living Languages, Sociolinguistics, Phonology
Astrida Neimanis, PhD | Associate Professor | English and Cultural Studies, Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies, Indigenous Knowledges, Sustainability (IGS) | astrida.neimanis@ubc.ca | CCS 370
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Feminist studies (with a focus on embodiment, ecofeminisms, material feminisms and intersectionality), environmental studies (with a focus on cultural studies of water, weather and climate change, and multispecies justice), everyday militarisms, interdisciplinarity, epistemologies and non-traditional research methodologies.
Courses & Teaching: GWST 272 / CULT 272 Feminism and Environment; ENGL 501 Methodologies: Critical Theory; IGS SUST 584: Sustainability Theme Seminar
Corinna Netherton | Lecturer | Indigenous Studies | corinna.netherton@ubc.ca
Elena Nicoladis | Department Head, Professor | Digital Arts and Humanities, Indigenous Knowledges, Psychology | elena.nicoladis@ubc.ca | 250.807.8461 | ART 322
Graduate student supervisor. Not considering Psychology graduate students for September 2026 intake.
Research Interests: Bilingual first language learning; second language learning; gestures
Shanny Nuyens (On Leave) | Community Liaison and Instructor Coordinator | Nłeʔkepmx Language Fluency | shanny.nuyens@ubc.ca
Colin Osmond | Assistant Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, History, Indigenous Knowledges | colin.osmond@ubc.ca | ART 269
Research Interests: Indigenous History; Community-Engaged History; Settler Colonialism; Ethnohistory; Environmental History; Labour History; Public History
Courses & Teaching: HIST 300: History of Indigenous Peoples of Canada to 1876; HIST 301: History of Indigenous Peoples of Canada Since 1876; HIST 383A: Canadian Settler Colonialism
Katrina Plamondon, PhD | Associate Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Faculty of Health and Social Development, Indigenous Knowledges, School of Nursing | katrina.plamondon@ubc.ca
Graduate student supervisor. Learn about our lab and submit an inquiry: https://www.equityscience.ca/contact
Research Interests: Connecting knowledge with action for equity; global public health; equity science; critical pedagogy; methods for relational, responsive research; methodologies include engaged/co-production approaches, dialogic methods, arts-informed approaches, narrative inquiry, critical discourse and policy analysis
Courses & Teaching: KTEA Knowledge to Equity Action Professional Development Course (Winter 2024)
Deliberative Dialogue Methods (Winter 2024; Spring 2025)
HINT 429/529 Advance Global Health (Fall 2024)
NURS 4429 Advanced Global Health Practice (Fall 2023)
HEAL 307 (Winter 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
CCGHR Knowledge Translation Summer Course (Summer 2020, 2021)
Benjamin Ramirez | Assistant Professor of Teaching | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Indigenous Knowledges, Indigenous Studies | ben.ramirez@ubc.ca | LM4 625
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Indigenous Survivance; Decolonization; Indigenous ways of knowing and being; Ojibwe knowledge; Indigenous Gender Identities and settler colonization.
Christine Schreyer | Professor | Anthropology, Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Digital Arts and Humanities, Indigenous Knowledges | christine.schreyer@ubc.ca | ART 368C
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Linguistic anthropology; First Nations language and culture; land claims and Aboriginal Title; ethnolinguistics, ethnohistory, social memory, oral history, landscape, and traditional land use studies; works with First Nations communities on language issues such as language maintenance and revitalization of endangered languages
Courses & Teaching: Linguistic anthropology; language documentation and revitalization
Onyx Sloan Morgan | Assistant Professor | Community, Culture and Global Studies, Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Indigenous Knowledges, Sustainability (IGS) | onyx.sloanmorgan@ubc.ca | ART 252
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Critical human geography; resource extraction; queer geographies; settler colonialism; youth-led research and social movements; modern treaties
Courses & Teaching: GEOG 217: Geographies of BC; GEOG 358: Gender, Place & Culture; GEOG 460: Critical Geographies of the Anthropocene; GEOG/GWST 426: Queer Geographies; IGS 550: Voice, Justice, Change
Emily Snyder | Associate Professor | Indigenous Knowledges, Power, Conflict and Ideas, Sociology | emily.snyder@ubc.ca | ART 315
Research Interests: Socio-legal studies; social inequalities; gender, sexuality, and law; HIV criminalization; Indigenous laws and legal issues; connections between health and law.
Courses & Teaching: Fundamentals of Sociological Research; Sexuality, Law, and Society; Social Inequality; Feminist Theory
Sue Sterling-Bur | Manager, Strategy and Operations Indigenous Initiatives | Indigenous Knowledges | sue.sterlingbur@ubc.ca
Margo Tamez | Associate Professor | Indigenous Knowledges, Indigenous Studies | margo.tamez@ubc.ca | ART 250
Research Interests: Margo Tamez is a poet, historian, theorist, editor and the author of four poetry collections, including, Raven Eye, and FATHER | GENOCIDE. Her book, Gathering Together, We Decide: Archives of Dispossession, Resistance, and Memory in Ndé Homelands, (Critical Issues in Indigenous Studies, University of Arizona Press), intervenes at the intersection of Indigenous feminist theory, history, militarization, genocide, archives, memory, and Indigenous-led investigations.
Courses & Teaching: Dr. Tamez' courses, INDG 310: Indigenous Women’s Perspectives: Gender, Nation, State and Resistance and INDG 450: Indigenous Women, Activisms, Feminisms are sought by undergraduate students across the areas of Indigenous Studies, Gender, Women, Sexuality Studies, International Relations, Psychology, Nursing, Anthropology, Critical & Creative Studies, History, pre-Law, and by graduate students pursuing interdisciplinary studies.
Lisa Tobber | Assistant Professor | Civil, Indigenous Knowledges, School of Engineering | lisa.tobber@ubc.ca
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Structural engineering; tall buildings; seismic design of precast concrete; disaster-resilient buildings; reinforced concrete buildings; precast concrete buildings
Courses & Teaching: ENGR 414 / APSC514 Precast Concrete Structures
APSC 261 Theory of Structures
Shannon Ward | Assistant Professor | Anthropology, Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Global Studies, Indigenous Knowledges | shannon.ward@ubc.ca | 250.807.8695 | ART 270
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Linguistic Anthropology; language acquisition and socialization; language shift; language endangerment; heritage language education; language documentation; oral history; Tibet and the Himalayas; modern China; South Asian diasporas; migration
Courses & Teaching: Linguistic Anthropology; multilingualism; language documentation and revitalization.
Tania Willard, MFA | Associate Professor | Creative Studies, Digital Arts and Humanities, Indigenous Knowledges, Visual Arts | tania.willard@ubc.ca | CCS 366
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Visual Arts, Curatorial praxis, Indigenous contemporary art, land-based art, Indigenous resurgence, relational aesthetics, socially engaged practice, BIPOC and diversity and equity practices in contemporary art.
Courses & Teaching: Visual Strategies and Research, Indigenous Land-based Art, Contemporary Indigenous Art, Indigenous Art Intensive
Shawn Wilson | Associate Professor | Community Engagement, Social Change, Equity, Indigenous Knowledges, Indigenous Studies, Power, Conflict and Ideas | shawn.wilson@ubc.ca | LM4 629
Graduate student supervisor
Research Interests: Indigenist Methodologies; Social-Emotional Wellbeing; Culture and Health