Deborah McGregor

Canadian environmentalist

Deborah McGregor
Born	Birch Island, Ontario, Canada
Nationality	Whitefish River First Nation, Canadian
Spouse	Steve
Children	2

Academic background
Education	BSc., University of Toronto MES, York University PhD., 2000, Forestry, University of Toronto
Thesis	From exclusion to co-existence: aboriginal participation in Ontario forest management planning. (2000)
Academic work
Discipline	Environmental Studies
Institutions	University of Toronto Osgoode Hall Law School
Main interests	Indigenous Knowledge Systems

Deborah B. McGregor (Anishinaabe) is a Canadian environmentalist. She is an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Early life and education

An Ojibway person from Whitefish River First Nation, McGregor was born in Birch Island, Ontario, to Elder Marion McGregor.^[1]^[2] She earned her PhD in Forestry from the University of Toronto.^[3]

Career

After earning her PhD, McGregor was an assistant professor in Aboriginal Studies and Geography at the University of Toronto where she also served as Interim Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Initiatives.^[4] McGregor also worked at Environment Canada-Ontario Region as a Senior Policy Advisor.^[5] In 2010, McGregor co-edited "Indigenous Peoples and Autonomy: Insights for a Global Age" with Mario Blaser, Ravi De Costa, and William D. Coleman.^[6]

She was promoted to a full-time faculty member at Osgoode Hall Law School on July 1, 2015.^[7] The next year, she was renewed as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice,^[8] which allowed her to continue working on York's Indigenous Environmental Justice Project.^[9] Her research focus is understanding Indigenous environmental justice through a lens of unity between humanity and the environment.^[10]

In 2018, McGregor and co-editors Jean-Paul Restoule and Rochelle Johnston published "Indigenous Research: Theories, Practices, and Relationships," a book exploring research methodologies centred in Indigenous worldviews.^[11] She also sat on the Assembly of First Nations Advisory Committee on Climate Action and the Environment and attended the "Reconnecting with Mother Earth" gathering with 80 Elders and youth.^[12]

Her research focuses on Indigenous knowledge systems and how they can be applied for water and environmental governance, environmental justice, forest policy and management, and sustainable development.^[13]

Personal life

McGregor and her husband Steve have two sons together.^[14]

Journal Publications

From 'Trust' to 'Trustworthiness': Retheorizing dynamics of trust, distrust and water security in North America. (2022). Environment and Planning E. Nature and Space. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/25148486221101459
Exposing the myths of household water insecurity in the global north: A critical review. (2020). Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water 7 (6). http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1486
Including Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Environmental Assessment: Restructuring the Process. (2019). Global Environmental Politics 19 (3), 120-132. http://dx/doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00519
Mino-Mnaamodzawin: Achieving Indigenous Environmental Justice in Canada. (2018). Environment and Society 9 (1). https://doi.org./10.3167/ares.2018.090102
Reconciliation and environmental justice. (2018). Journal of Global Ethics 14 (2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17449626.2018.1507005
Shifting the Framework of Canadian Water Governance through Indigenous Research Methods: Acknowledging the Past with an Eye on the Future. (2018). Water 10 (1), 49. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w10010049
Source Water Protection Planning for Ontario First Nations Communities: Case Studies Identifying Challenges and Outcomes. (2017). Water 9 (7), 50. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w9070550
Recommendations for marine herring policy change in Canada: Aligning with Indigenous legal and inherent rights. (2016). Marine Policy 74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.09.007
Traditional Ecological Knowledge: An Anishinaabe Woman's Perspective. (2005). Atlantis 29 (2). https://journals.msvu.ca./index.php/atlantis/article/view/1057
Coming Full Circle: Indigenous Knowledge, Environment, and Our Future. (2004). American Indian Quarterly 28 (3/4), 385-410. https://jstor.org/stable/4138924

Books

Indigenous Research: Theories, Practices, and Relationships (Canadian Scholars' Press, 2018). ISBN 9781773380858
Indigenous Peoples and Autonomy: Insights for a Global Change (UBC Press, 2011). ISBN 9780774817936

Contributions to books

"COVID-19 and First Nations' Responses," In Vulnerable: The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19 (University of Ottawa Press, 2020).
"Truth Be Told: Redefining Relationships through Indigenous Research," In Renewing Relationships: Indigenous Peoples and Canada (Indigenous Law Centre, 2019).
"All Our Relations : climate change storytellers," in Rising tides : reflections for climate changing times (Caitlin Press, 2019).

References

^ Ainslie Cruickshank (April 11, 2016). "Addressing on-reserve water issues needs more than infrastructure, money". ipolitics.ca. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
^ "Biidwewidamoog Anishinaabe-Ogimaakwewag: Mnidoo Mnising Neebing gah Bizh'ezhiwaybuck 2019". activehistory.ca. September 20, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
^ Damien Short; Corinne Lennox (February 5, 2016). Handbook of Indigenous Peoples' Rights. Routledge. ISBN 9781136313868. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
^ "PROGRAM INFORMATION 2011–12". utoronto.ca. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
^ "Deborah McGregor presents the 2019 Katherine A.H. Graham Lecture on Indigenous Policy". carleton.ca. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
^ Guillermo, Delgado-P (July 3, 2015). "The Practice of Autonomy by Indigenous Peoples". Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies. 10 (1): 146–154. doi:10.1080/17442222.2015.1034435. S2CID 142721209.
^ "Osgoode announces three new full-time faculty appointments". osgoode.yorku.ca. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
^ "York University gains six new and two renewed Canada Research Chairs". yfile.news.yorku.ca. February 9, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
^ "Indigenous Environmental Justice Project offers unparalleled resource". osgoode.yorku.ca. January 12, 2018. Archived from the original on January 30, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
^ "Indigenous environmental justice works to turn long-standing stewardship into recognized governance". cbc.ca. April 19, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
^ Hele, Karl (December 3, 2018). "Book review: Indigenous Research: Theories, Practices, and Relationships". anishinabeknews.ca. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
^ "Colonialism and Climate Change: Deborah McGregor Calls for More Indigenous Input". carleton.ca. June 11, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
^ York University (n.d.). "Deborah McGregor".
^ "Deborah McGregor". muskratmagazine.com.