Ethics and the

    Columbia River Treaty


    Righting Historic Wrongs

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     Jeannette Armstrong

Jeannette Armstrong, PhD grew up on the Penticton Indian reserve. Her formal education in Syilx knowledge was received from elders of her family and knowledge keepers of the Okanagan Syilx.  She is a Syilx Okanagan traditional knowledge keeper and fluent speaker and teacher of Nsyilxcn Okanagan language and laws. Jeannette has been engaged in the lifelong work of recovery and revitalization of Syilx Indigenous knowledge as one of the founders of En’owkin, the Okanagan Nsyilxcn knowledge institution of higher learning of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. 

Jeannette is Assistant Professor in Indigenous Studies, Community, Culture & Global Studies at University of British Columbia Okanagan.  She has an interdisciplinary PhD in environmental ethics in Syilx oral literatures from the University of Greifswald.  Her research and study as Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Okanagan Philosophy at UBC Okanagan, and as the lead for the Adaptation, De-colonization, and Indigeneity research cluster under the Institute for Community Engaged Research (ICER) is focused in contemporary applications of Syilx traditional knowledge in environmental ethics and practice from within the Syilx framework.  As a recipient of the EcoTrust USA Buffett Award for Indigenous Leadership, over the past decade her focus in social transformation involved work in social and educational applications of the Enowkinwixw dialogue method with social change organizations such as the Centre for Ecoliteracy in Berkerly CA and Bioneers in Santa Fe, NM. 

Jeannette is also the recipient of the Community Achievement Award by the Government of British Columbia and the George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement award. She is fortunate to have a large extended family of brothers and sisters who are also knowledge keepers to collaborate with. Her and husband Dr. Marlowe Sam, of the Colville Confederated Tribe, are not only academic collaborators in research on the social history of water, but are fortunate  to share knowledge with their families children, grandchildren and the community in the custom of Syilx knowledge transfer.   


email:  jeannette.armstrong@ubc.ca