Tara Joly

Dr. Tara Joly is an Assistant Professor in First Nations Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and holds adjunct positions in Anthropology at UNBC and Archaeology & Anthropology at the University of Saskatchewan. With a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Aberdeen (2017), her research focuses on Indigenous responses to extractive industries, particularly in Alberta’s oil sands region. She specializes in applied and community-based research with Métis and Indigenous communities, emphasizing sovereignty, land reclamation, and environmental justice.

Her work integrates environmental anthropology with settler colonial studies, exploring how Indigenous peoples assert territorial rights amid extractive development. Key projects include studies on muskeg reclamation, Métis trapline use, and freshwater mussel health in the Lower Athabasca Region. She has collaborated with Indigenous Nations, governments, and NGOs on impact assessments, traditional land use mapping, and environmental monitoring.

Dr. Joly’s publications span academic journals (e.g., Anthropologica, Journal of Ethnobiology) and edited volumes, including Extracting Home in the Oil Sands (Routledge, 2019). She advocates for interdisciplinary methodologies that center Indigenous Knowledge systems and has contributed to policy critiques on consultation practices and land use conflicts.

Her teaching and research emphasize ethical engagement with Indigenous communities, and she advises graduate students in First Nations Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Natural Resources & Environmental Studies (NRES). She currently resides in Prince George, BC, on unceded Lheidli T’enneh territory.