Papers by Nicole Brandsma
The places of northwestern British Columbia, and the Indigenous and settler peoples who find work... more The places of northwestern British Columbia, and the Indigenous and settler peoples who find work, build homes, establish communities, and sustain culture in these places, are often perceived as peripheral or overlooked, existing on the edge or outside of the notice, care, and understanding of the people and places seemingly at the centre of This dissertation was written in unceded Treaty 6 territory, land that was and continues to be a gathering place for the Cree, Métis, Blackfoot, Nakota Sioux, Iroquois, Dene, Anishinaabe, and Inuit. In particular, I acknowledge that I live and work in the territory of the Papaschase Cree, near the North Saskatchewan River in what we currently call Edmonton, but that Cree language instructor Dorothy Thunder taught me to call Amiskwacîwâskahikan as well. This project was written with the support of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship. I also received both administrative and financial support from the Department of English and Film Studies, as well as the Faculty of Graduate Studies, at the University of Alberta. Thanks to this institutional support, I had time and encouragement to research, write, and benefit from the university's academic endeavours. Thank you to Keavy Martin and Sarah Krotz, whose co-supervision was a model of collegiality and intellectual rigour. Their graduate courses widened my understanding of what research, writing, and engagement can become in an English program and beyond, which changed the course and focus of my project. Their patience and guidance enabled me to see it through. Thank you to Albert Braz and Marie Carrière, whose work on my supervisory committee at different stages during my doctoral research offered the insights, queries, and advice that propelled me through each program milestone. Thank you to Andie Palmer and Pamela Banting, whose attentive reading of my dissertation and generous questions during the defence engendered a fitting culmination of this project. v Thank you to Laura Sydora, whose friendship sustained me through grad school. Her brilliance and work ethic motivated me, her baked treats fueled me, and her company filled my life with empathy and laughter. When we met during orientation, I did not imagine that together we would one day walk the streets of Dublin, witnessing the marks of Irish feminist movements that are the subject of her doctoral work, and drive the highways of northern British Columbia, stopping at the places that enliven my project. Now I cannot imagine completing this degree without her. Thank you to my parents, Al and Rosalie, whose love for me and support for my academic pursuits is constant. Their interest in my studies led to them becoming curators of northern B.C. culture they thought related to my research. The newspaper articles, arts and culture periodicals, and books published by local authors that they passed along to me immeasurably shaped this project. To my siblings-Michelle, Ashlee, and Traviswhose visits to the city and companionship on trips out of it made home feel less far away. Their willingness to hear updates about my research reminded me that this work is meaningful beyond academia. To my grandparents-Norman and Alida, and Bill and Rena-whose support for education instilled in me at an early age a love of learning. The community that they built for our family in Smithers continually draws me home. This project pauses at times to reflect on how my family's stories and home are intertwined and implicated in the settler colonial geographies of northwestern British Columbia. And so, I would like finally to acknowledge that the places this dissertation speaks from and to include the unceded and non-treaty territories of Gidimt'en (Bear Wolf) Clan and Likhsilyu (Small Frog) Clan, of the Witsuwit'en nation, that my family and the other residents of Smithers call home. vi
The places of northwestern British Columbia, and the Indigenous and settler peoples who find work... more The places of northwestern British Columbia, and the Indigenous and settler peoples who find work, build homes, establish communities, and sustain culture in these places, are often perceived as peripheral or overlooked, existing on the edge or outside of the notice, care, and understanding of the people and places seemingly at the centre of This dissertation was written in unceded Treaty 6 territory, land that was and continues to be a gathering place for the Cree, Métis, Blackfoot, Nakota Sioux, Iroquois, Dene, Anishinaabe, and Inuit. In particular, I acknowledge that I live and work in the territory of the Papaschase Cree, near the North Saskatchewan River in what we currently call Edmonton, but that Cree language instructor Dorothy Thunder taught me to call Amiskwacîwâskahikan as well. This project was written with the support of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship. I also received both administrative and financial support from the Department of English and Film Studies, as well as the Faculty of Graduate Studies, at the University of Alberta. Thanks to this institutional support, I had time and encouragement to research, write, and benefit from the university's academic endeavours. Thank you to Keavy Martin and Sarah Krotz, whose co-supervision was a model of collegiality and intellectual rigour. Their graduate courses widened my understanding of what research, writing, and engagement can become in an English program and beyond, which changed the course and focus of my project. Their patience and guidance enabled me to see it through. Thank you to Albert Braz and Marie Carrière, whose work on my supervisory committee at different stages during my doctoral research offered the insights, queries, and advice that propelled me through each program milestone. Thank you to Andie Palmer and Pamela Banting, whose attentive reading of my dissertation and generous questions during the defence engendered a fitting culmination of this project. v Thank you to Laura Sydora, whose friendship sustained me through grad school. Her brilliance and work ethic motivated me, her baked treats fueled me, and her company filled my life with empathy and laughter. When we met during orientation, I did not imagine that together we would one day walk the streets of Dublin, witnessing the marks of Irish feminist movements that are the subject of her doctoral work, and drive the highways of northern British Columbia, stopping at the places that enliven my project. Now I cannot imagine completing this degree without her. Thank you to my parents, Al and Rosalie, whose love for me and support for my academic pursuits is constant. Their interest in my studies led to them becoming curators of northern B.C. culture they thought related to my research. The newspaper articles, arts and culture periodicals, and books published by local authors that they passed along to me immeasurably shaped this project. To my siblings-Michelle, Ashlee, and Traviswhose visits to the city and companionship on trips out of it made home feel less far away. Their willingness to hear updates about my research reminded me that this work is meaningful beyond academia. To my grandparents-Norman and Alida, and Bill and Rena-whose support for education instilled in me at an early age a love of learning. The community that they built for our family in Smithers continually draws me home. This project pauses at times to reflect on how my family's stories and home are intertwined and implicated in the settler colonial geographies of northwestern British Columbia. And so, I would like finally to acknowledge that the places this dissertation speaks from and to include the unceded and non-treaty territories of Gidimt'en (Bear Wolf) Clan and Likhsilyu (Small Frog) Clan, of the Witsuwit'en nation, that my family and the other residents of Smithers call home. vi
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Papers by Nicole Brandsma