Other Projects

Other major projects by the author…

Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning

Course on “Our Land, Our Life”: Dene Self-Determination in Theory and Practice

Following the Dene Nation’s groundbreaking Dene Declaration of 1975, Canada has witnessed the self-determination efforts and objectives of Indigenous peoples in Canada increasingly framed in the language of “recognition”: recognition of Indigenous peoples’ cultural and national distinctiveness, recognition of Indigenous rights to land and self-government, and recognition of Indigenous peoples’ right to benefit from the use and development of their lands and resources. This course will critically explore the theoretical, cultural, political-economic, and gendered dynamics underwriting the Dene struggle for recognition and self-determination since the establishment of the Indian Brotherhood of the Northwest Territories in 1970. Particular attention will be paid in examining the ways in which the Dene have sought to overcome ongoing social suffering and colonialism through a variety of means, including strategies and tactics aimed at achieving cultural recognition through land claims, self-government and economic development, and by organizing grassroots change in the lives of Dene people and communities themselves. In terms of course structure, each meeting will be oriented around a theme relevant to the course topic and reading materials. The course will be comprised of a combination of lectures, local guest speakers, in-class video screenings, and group discussions. The second part of the course will integrate lectures with a practice of land-connectedness by having students participate in tanning moose hides according to the Dene method.

Click here for the Dechinta website.

Northern Governance Policy Research Conference

In November 2009, Yellowknife will be hosting the first ever policy research conference on Northern governance. It will bring together an emerging resource of northern researchers to discuss how to connect effective research in the service of policy for Indigenous and community organizations. Dr. Irlbacher-Fox is serving as conference chair, as well as the lead organizer.

Click here for the conference website.

Arctic Social Indicators  (ASI) – Identifying Social Indicators for Cultural Integrity

Co-Lead Author and member, Cultural Integrity Working Group, Arctic Social Indicators Project. The project was commissioned by the Sustainable Development Working Group of the Arctic Council. It involved 25 academics from circumpolar countries developing a suite of social indicators in Arctic populations for Arctic Council member governments.

Dr. Irlbacher-Fox and her colleagues connected the ASI experience of identifying appropriate indicators for cultural integrity in an international context, to the potential of local communities identifying appropriate cultural indicators useful for impact assessment.

Click here for ASI website.

Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation

The first Northern Policy Forum was held during June 2007. This background discussion paper was commissioned to analyze major trends and issues in economic transformation in the North.

Click here to download discussion paper.