Open House: VIU Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Indigenous Studies

Join Dr. Shanna Lorenz as she presents a summary of her work at VIU: 'Supporting First Nations Research Sovereignty with Local Area Networks and Phone and Web Applications.'

Shanna Lorenz is VIU’s 2022 Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair in Indigenous Studies. She is a settler scholar from xučyun, unceded Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone territory in Northern California, and is an Associate Professor from Occidental College in Los Angeles.

Shanna has a PhD in Music from the University of Pittsburgh and a PhD in Performance Studies from New York University. She is completing a master’s degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Manitoba.

Shanna’s work includes co-creating an Indigenous data sovereignty app called “Our Data Indigenous,” which was designed to help First Nations communities collect and analyze data on including health and wellbeing, language and cultural revitalization, security and land-based knowledge. She is currently working with community researchers to expand the app into Indigenous communities in British Columbia. She will also be working on a pilot project to add geographic information system capabilities, allowing Indigenous communities to collect and map geospatial information related to environmental monitoring, cultural sites and language usage.

Light refreshments will be provided.