New Director To Lead UWinnipeg’s Aboriginal Governance Program

Dr. Julie Pelletier – photo by Andrew Israel

WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg is pleased to announce that respected scholar of Indigenous studies Dr. Julie Pelletier will become Director of Aboriginal Governance and Associate Professor at The University of Winnipeg, leading one of Canada’s most comprehensive Aboriginal academic programs, effective July1, 2010.

Pelletier, currently at the University of Minnesota, will oversee UWinnipeg’s Master of Arts degree in Aboriginal Governance, unique in Manitoba, as well as the ongoing Bachelor of Arts in Aboriginal Governance (offered as a joint program with Red River College).

“I am excited to join The University of Winnipeg and the Aboriginal Governance Program” said Dr. Pelletier. “During my interview in January, I immediately felt that I had found my new academic home. It is clear that this institution is committed to preparing future Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders. The fine faculty of the Aboriginal Governance Program provides a comprehensive and nuanced knowledge of Canadian Indigenous policy and Indigenous sovereignty and I am honored to join their ranks. The University of Winnipeg’s innovative approaches to inclusive education are attractive to me as an academic who sets a high value on teaching students from diverse backgrounds, particularly Indigenous students. I am looking forward to the challenges and rewards of continuing to grow the program as part of The University of Winnipeg’s mission.”

Prior to coming to the University of Winnipeg, Dr. Pelletier was Associate Professor of Anthropology and American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota – Morris, where she was one of the founders of the American Indian Studies program. She obtained her Ph.D. and M.A. in Anthropology at Michigan State University, and her undergraduate degree at the University of Maine – Fort Kent. Dr. Pelletier has conducted fieldwork with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan and among the Maori of New Zealand/Aotearoa. Her research involves questions of Indigenous identity, most recently concerning economic development and tribal casinos in Michigan. Her research and teaching interests include decolonization of research methods and of pedagogy, indigeneity and development, and representations of Indigenous peoples. She was born in a small border town in northern Maine on the U.S./Canadian border and is of French, Maliseet, and Mi’kmaq descent.

Indigenous research

“Dr. Pelletier’s appointment is significant as The University of Winnipeg is increasingly playing a central role in Canada in nurturing Indigenous research, leadership and knowledge,” said Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President and Vice-Chancellor, UWinnipeg. “We have one of the fastest growing Aboriginal student populations in Canada. And in partnership with First Nations, Metis and Inuit advisors, we are developing the world’s first Master’s in Development Practice with a focus on Indigenous Development, joining a global network of 22 prominent academic transnational institutions including Columbia University’s Earth Institute (New York, USA), Sciences PO (Paris, France), Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (Rio, Brazil),Tsinghua University (Beijing), University of California (Berkeley), James Cook University (Australia).”

UWinnipeg’s Master of Arts in Aboriginal Governance, which began in September 2008, expands the knowledge and skills required to create effective leaders in Aboriginal and treaty rights. Courses include Indigenous Economic Development, Land Claim and Self-Government Negotiations, and Urban Aboriginal Governance.

In May 2010, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded UWinnipeg a highly competitive international grant of $800,000 USD that will go towards establishing a unique and specialized Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) with a focus on Indigenous Development. UWinnipeg is the only university in the world to specialize in Indigenous Development within the MDP program. UWinnipeg has established a MDP Advisory Circle to be led by Dr. Phil Fontaine, former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. The Advisory Circle is working with the University to ensure the program respects Indigenous traditions and succeeds in reaching its goals in training world leaders in sustainable development.

The MDP will combine training in the health sciences, natural sciences, social sciences and management to give practitioners the tools to address the world’s most challenging problems while creating leaders in Indigenous development studies. Find out more about this exciting new degree at http://mdp.uwinnipeg.ca or email mdp@uwinnipeg.ca.

Detailed information about The University of Winnipeg’s Aboriginal Governance program can be found at http://ag.uwinnipeg.ca/