My research examines the history of Indigenous-non-Indigenous
relationships in Canada with attention to cultural performance,
resource and urban development disputes, and land rights
activism. I was a guest curator for the award winning,
collaborative museum exhibition, c̓ əsnaʔəm: the city before the
city, that highlights xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqeam First Nation) history
and ongoing connection to the urban landscapes of Vancouver.
My book, These Mysterious People: Shaping History and
Archaeology in a Northwest Coast Community, details how
Musqueam’s legal and cultural expressions challenged public
and museum-based accounts of Indigenous history throughout
the 20th century.
My current research includes a collaborative book project that
examines the intersections of shíshalh (Sechelt First Nation)
genealogies, land rights, and colonial encounters on the
Northwest Coast; Songs in the Key of Cree, an arts-based Cree
language revitalization project led by Cree playwright Tomson
Highway, and, with Phil Monture of Six Nations of the Grand River,
Six Miles Deep: Mapping Environmental Transformation in the
Haldimand Tract Territories of the Six Nations of the Grand River.
I also incorporate digital technologies and other forms of multi-
media presentation to bring historical research to wider public.
Board member since 2024