A Nisga鈥檃 matriarch and academic who helped bring home her family鈥檚 stolen memorial pole is taking on a global leadership role in advancing Indigenous knowledge, language, and research sovereignty.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has appointed Dr. Amy Parent as Co-Chair in Transforming Indigenous Knowledge Research Governance and Rematriation. The position was created to support Indigenous communities in taking control over research and cultural knowledge, according to a June 10 press release. She will share the role with Dr. Sonajharia Minz of the Oraon Tribal Peoples of India.
鈥淚t is still far too uncommon to see Indigenous women leading international initiatives like this,鈥� said Parent. 鈥淒r. Sonajharia Minz and I carry this joint appointment not only with deep honour, but with a profound sense of responsibility 鈥� to our Nations, our Ancestors, and the generations to come. We are committed to bringing forward the strength of our Nations and the integrity of our knowledge systems into spaces and places where they have long been excluded.鈥�
Based at Simon Fraser University in partnership with Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, the four-year appointment will focus on building relationships with Indigenous Nations across Canada, India and globally. According to the release, Parent and Minz will guide distinctions-based research governance, support the return of cultural belongings, and contribute to Indigenous-led approaches to artificial intelligence and data sovereignty. The Co-Chairs will also help design decentralized digital infrastructure, craft policy pathways for language revitalization, and mentor emerging Indigenous scholars through a matriarchal lens.
Parent, whose Nisga鈥檃 name is Noxs Ts鈥檃awit, meaning 鈥淢other of the Raven Warrior Chief named Ts鈥檃wit,鈥� belongs on her mother鈥檚 side to the House of Ni鈥檌sjoohl and the Ganada (frog) clan in Laxgalts鈥檃p. Her father鈥檚 family is of French and German ancestry.
She is an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Education and Governance at Simon Fraser University, where she also serves as the inaugural associate director of the Cassidy Centre for Educational Justice.
In 2023, she was part of a delegation that returned her family鈥檚 memorial pole to the Nisga鈥檃 Nation after standing for nearly a century at the Royal Scottish Museum (now National Museums Scotland) in Edinburgh. The effort was recognized with a B.C. Historical Foundation Certificate of Merit.
Her appointment builds on that legacy, expanding the work of rematriation 鈥� a term used instead of repatriation to reflect the matriarchal governance systems of many Indigenous Nations.
鈥淭his announcement is about more than just a title 鈥� it鈥檚 about inviting others to dream with us, and to know that yes, we can do this work, together,鈥� said Parent. 鈥淲e want Indigenous matriarchs, Knowledge Keepers, youth, rightsholders, and communities to know that this Chair is for all of us.鈥�
