Dr. Amy Parent Announced as Member of the Indigenous Leadership Circle in Research

Congratulations to Dr. Amy Parent who has been announced as Member of the Indigenous Leadership Circle in Research (Leadership Circle)! 

This group will advise the presidents of Canada’s three federal research funding agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council—and the Canada Foundation for Innovation, on the implementation of the interagency strategic plan Setting new directions to support Indigenous research and research training in Canada 2019-2022.

The creation of the Leadership Circle will ensure that the path to building new models for Indigenous research and research training will be informed by First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples.

"Luu aamlhl goodiy (My heart is happy) to be following through with a commitment that I made to a Nisga’a matriarch three years ago, who instructed me to 'go to Ottawa and change the grant structure for Indigenous Peoples' after experiencing a colonial tension with a SSHRC grant application," says Dr. Parent.

"I am honoured to represent my Nation and Simon Fraser University to work alongside respected Indigenous leaders across Canada to enact the necessary decolonizing changes to SSHRC's mandate and implementation of the interagency strategic plan, to support our self-determination goals in Indigenous research and policy development. My hands are held high to the incredible Indigenous trailblazers who have supported the development of the Indigenous Leadership Circle in Research." 

Read the full release and learn more about the strategic plan here.