معرفی
Catherine Richardson is an Associate Professor and the Director of First Peoples Studies Program at Concordia University's School of Community and Public Affairs in Montreal (Tiohta:ké). She is a Métis scholar with Cree and Gwichin ancestry, actively engaged in research and advocacy related to Indigenous rights, reconciliation, and social justice.
Dr. Richardson's research focuses on Indigenous Studies, with particular emphasis on:
- Indigenous healing knowledges and practices
- The legacy of residential schools and paths to reconciliation
- Police violence against Indigenous communities
- Indigenous sovereignty and land rights
- Response-based approaches to addressing violence
- Colonial structures and their ongoing impacts
Her recent scholarship critically examines institutional apologies (such as the Papal apology for residential schools), arguing that meaningful reconciliation requires concrete reparations rather than symbolic gestures. She analyzes how language is used to obscure violence and responsibility, advocating for accurate historical representation as foundational to healing. Her work consistently centers Indigenous knowledge systems while challenging colonial narratives.
Dr. Richardson has received research funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), including for her work on Indigenous Healing Knowledges. She is affiliated with The Centre for Response-Based Practice, which focuses on addressing violence through approaches that center survivors' experiences and resistance rather than pathologizing victims.
With decades of engagement in Indigenous rights advocacy, including participation in the Clayoquot Sound protests in the early 1990s, Dr. Richardson brings both academic expertise and lived experience to her scholarship and teaching. Her work connects historical colonial practices to contemporary issues facing Indigenous communities, advocating for structural change rather than superficial reconciliation.
