Dr. Aedan Alderson (Nek'm/He/Him)

Kwe' (hello) my name is Aedan Alderson, and I am a non-status Mi'kmaw and Irish scholar, with family hailing from Epekwitk (Prince Edward Island).

My grandparents moved from Epekwitk to Hamilton in the 1960s for work and in the years that followed my grandfather Cliff Cheverie, moved to Six Nations and became a part of the Jacobs family (Onondaga/Turtle Clan). My father was raised in foster care after him and his siblings were apprehended by child welfare, in various European families across Ontario. I was raised with my white mother's family in Tkaronto, and grew up in a family that was mixed-race (White, Black, Indigenous), disabled, Queer and Trans, and my kinship relationships and the survival struggles our communities endured as a result of colonialism and it's power structures of white supremacy, ableism, and cisheteropatriarchy shaped my commitments and professional trajectory both within and outside of the academy as an educator, social planner, and researcher. As someone who grew up in Tkaronto my commitments to Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee sovereignty continue to be an anchor in my work in this region, and my work to support Mi'kmaw sovereignty continues to shape my responsibilities as well. Part of the way I have taken up this responsibility is through working in Teacher Ed programs across Ontario, training teachers in various foundations courses on Indigenous pedagogy to help make it so future generations have better access to the resources they need to not have as many gaps in knowledge and relationships when it comes to Indigenous-settler relationships, colonialism, and how to be accountable in these territories.

In terms of my academic background, I hold degrees in Sociology, Environmental Studies and Planning, and received my PhD in Environmental Studies from York University in 2021. Prior to joining Laurier, I was a Professor at George Brown College (for four years) teaching professional programs a range of courses related to Indigenous Studies, developing professional development programmes, and co-developing exchange programs between Indigenous communities here and in Aotearoa. In addition to working at GBC, I was fortunate to spend the last five years teaching courses in most universities in Ontario in a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs including Education, Indigenous Studies, Law and Society, Geography, Sociology, Environmental Studies, Human Rights and Equity Studies, Canadian Studies, Political Science and Criminology. Prior to joining GBC as a full-time faculty member, I was a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow continuing my work on Irish-Indigenous relations, and held other research appointments including working as a Fellow at the Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security, working as a research associate and educator in the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees Program in Dadaab Kenya, and a Dobbin-Transatlantic scholar with the Ireland Canada University Foundation. My work in the academy has also benefitted from my work in various professional roles with refugees, newcomers, community organizations and other parts of the civil sector working towards advancing equity for people in the GTHA.

As you might imagine from the above, my work is transdisciplinary, transnational, and fundamentally rooted in challenging the power structures and crises that colonialism has produced in this era locally and globally.

Through my work at Laurier Brantford, I hope to help the people I work with recognize that our community has a unique opportunity to work together and with surrounding communities to engage in tangible support for accountability to Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg sovereignty. As an institution situated on the Haldimand Tract, our community also has a responsibility to use our gifts, roles and relationships to call upon the Crown to uphold it's promises to the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and to take actions that can build stronger and more accountable relations for future generations in this territory.