Sheryl Lightfoot

Sheryl Lightfoot is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and the First Nations and Indigenous Studies Program at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Arts. She holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Indigenous Rights and Politics and serves as Senior Advisor to the President on Indigenous Affairs at UBC’s First Nations House of Learning. Her academic affiliations reflect her interdisciplinary focus on Indigenous governance, rights, and political theory.

Her research interests center on global Indigenous peoples’ politics, Indigenous political theory, Indigenous diplomacy, Indigenous social movements, and critical international relations theory. She examines how Indigenous rights implementation reshapes state-Indigenous relationships and reconceptualizes sovereignty, self-determination, and human rights globally.

Her recent publications, spanning from 2023 to 2025, reveal a consistent focus on Indigenous sovereignty, borders, UN engagement, and the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Themes include transnational Indigenous activism, environmental justice, gender justice, and the paradoxes of state recognition. Her work often employs comparative and critical theoretical frameworks, analyzing cases from Canada, the U.S., Ecuador, Russia, and South Asia.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Best Dissertation Award, American Political Science Association (2010)

Sheryl leads and participates in major research initiatives, including SSHRC-funded projects on Indigenous apologies and self-determination, a UBC Catalyzing Research Cluster on Global Challenges to Democracy, and collaborations on environmental injustices and transformative memory. She is building a university-based research network to advance Indigenous rights advocacy. While specific labs or teams are not named, her collaborative projects with scholars like David MacDonald and her leadership in research clusters indicate active team-based scholarship. She advises on policy, as evidenced by her 2021 submission to the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs regarding Bill C-15.