The Power Plant

In this edition of Cross Circuits, we welcome environmental scholar Dr. Deborah McGregor, Professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair in Indigenous Planetary Well Being. Drawing on her deep work in Indigenous knowledge systems, water justice, climate change, and the Great Lakes, McGregor will respond to the current exhibitions: Jeneen Frei Njootli’s The skies closed themselves when we averted our gaze and Lucy Raven’s Murderers Bar. Through her talk, she will explore themes of planetary wellbeing, environmental governance, and water sovereignty, rooted in the Indigenous Water Walk movement born from the activism of Grandmother Josephine Mandamin. Her perspective invites us to reflect on our relationships with water, land, and future generations, and how justice for ecosystems is inseparable from justice for people.

Deborah McGregor is Anishinaabe from Whitefish River First Nation, Ontario. She is an Anishinaabe scholar and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) expert, and her work focuses on how Indigenous Knowledges and experiences can be applied to solve environmental problems. Professor McGregor’s research has focused on Indigenous knowledge systems in diverse contexts including environmental and water governance, environmental and climate justice, health and Indigenous legal traditions. Professor McGregor remains actively involved in a variety of Indigenous communities, serving as an advisor and continuing to engage in community-based research and initiatives. Professor McGregor has been at the forefront of Indigenous environmental and climate justice and Indigenous research theory and practice.