-
The University of British Columbia
- a place of mind
- The University of British Columbia
- Department of Political Science
Office: Buch E258
Office phone: 604-827-5178
Email: lightft@mail.ubc.ca
[Link to Sheryl Lightfoot at First Nations Studies]
Sheryl Lightfoot (Ph.D. Minnesota) is an assistant professor in the First Nations Studies Program and the Department of Political Science. Her research interests include global Indigenous peoples’ politics, Indigenous rights, Indigenous diplomacy, social movements, and critical international relations. She publishes articles in both Indigenous studies and international relations venues. She is currently working on a book project based upon her dissertation, “Indigenous Global Politics” which won the 2010 Best Dissertation Award in Race and Ethnic Politics from the American Political Science Association. She is Anishinaabe from the Lake Superior Band of Ojibwe.
Poli 316A (Term 1, 2011-2012): Global Indigenous Politics
Course Description: With the onslaught of European colonialism beginning in the 1400s, Indigenous peoples around the world were subjected to various forms of colonial rule. This course examines this history of colonialism and considers some of the various responses Indigenous peoples have invoked, both on the national and international levels. Its purpose is to situate Indigenous peoples’ political struggles in global politics. The first part of the course will examine Indigenous peoples’ experience with colonialism in both historical and theoretical perspective. The second part of the course will explore colonialism’s direct and indirect effects on Indigenous peoples and their reactions to it, through the use of regional case studies. In the third part of the course, the international Indigenous peoples’ movement, operating both within and outside the United Nations system, will be analyzed. The course culminates in a simulated United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues where students will serve as representatives of either Indigenous NGOs or state governments.
I am interested in supervising graduate students doing research in Indigenous politics, especially on the transnational and global levels.
Ph.D. Supervisions
Jan Lüdert, International Relations and Political Theory
Jessica Rosinski, International Relations and Poltical Theory (Co-Supervisor with Barbara Arneil)
Ph.D. Committee Member
Shayna Plaut, Education Studies
Jason Tockman, Comparative Politics, Dissertation Title: “Indigenous Autonomy, Citizenship and the Contemporary Bolivian State.”
"Selective Endorsement Without Intent to implement: Indigenous Rights and the Anglosphere." The International Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 16, No. 1, January 2012, pp. 100-122.
“Emerging International Indigenous Rights Norms and ‘Over-Compliance’ in New Zealand and Canada.” Political Science, Vol. 62, No. 1, June 2010, pp. 84-104.
Book Review: “Broken Landscape: Indians, Indian Tribes and the Constitution” by Frank Pommersheim; Oxford: Oxford University Press. Law and Politics Book Review, 2010.
Book Review: “Forced Federalism: Contemporary Challenges to Indigenous Nationhood” by Jeff Corntassel and Richard C. Witmer II; Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. Social Science Journal, Vol. 46, No. 1, March 2009, pp. 220-222.
Co-authored with David E. Wilkins. “Oaths of Office in Tribal Constitutions: Swearing Allegiance, but to Whom?” American Indian Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 4, Fall 2008, pp. 389-411.
“Indigenous Rights in International Politics: The Case of “Over-Compliant” Liberal States.” Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, Vol. 33, No. 1, Spring 2008, pp. 83-104.
