Biography
Dr. Niiyokamigaabaw Deondre Smiles (he/they/wiin) (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe) is a postdoctoral research fellow in the TRU, assisting with the broader NFRF-T project. Their research focuses on Indigenous responses to anthropogenic environmental change, particularly the roles that on-the-land learning and more applied geographies can play in furthering community resurgence. In addition to their role at TRU, they also assist the NFRF-T hub at the University of British Columbia with Indigenous research methods and protocols and serve as the director of the Geographic Indigenous Futures Collaboratory, a group focused on community-based research with Indigenous nations. Dr. Smiles holds a bachelor's degree in Geography from Saint Cloud State University, a master's degree in Global Indigenous Studies from the University of Minnesota Duluth, and a doctoral degree in Geography from The Ohio State University.