A UNBC student is one of 15 students from across Canada to receive a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Doctoral Scholarship.

This prestigious scholarship received nominations from top PhD candidates in the Social Sciences and Humanities Field from universities across Canada.

Around 300 exceptional students are nominated and only 15 are chosen after an application process and personal interview.

Spencer Greening is an Indigenous scholar and UNBC alumnus who is currently a PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby.

Photo Credit: UNBC

Greening’s PhD thesis is situated in the Archaeology department but revolves around interdisciplinary research on Indigenous expression of history, occupancy and stewardship as well as the management of Indigenous territories.

Even though Greening’s research is situated in his home territory of the Gitga’at First Nation in Hartley Bay, he believes that this kind of work is relevant across Canada.

“I am excited to learn more and understand my place in this relationship with the Trudeau Foundation community and my cohort,” said Greening. “Increasingly, academia is recognizing the importance of Indigenous perspectives in the pursuit of knowledge and ideas.

As a graduate student, Greening has returned to the Gitga’at First Nation to work as a Cultural Research Co-ordinator and Environmental Assessment Co-ordiantor.

“I feel both humbled and a large responsibility in my role as an Indigenous student, to utilize my own research in bettering academia for Indigenous communities and the process of decolonization. The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation encourages research that strives to make societal change through academia,” said Greening.

“Being part of such an influential academic community will have great challenges but also great opportunity to move forward in making room for Indigenous people and our knowledge systems in research, policy, law, environmental awareness, and the betterment of society in Canada.”