Dr. Angele Alook - Director of the Centre
Dr. Angele Alook is an Associate Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at York University and the current Director of the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages (CIKL). She is a proud member of Bigstone Cree Nation and a Cree speaker from Treaty 8 territory.
Her research expertise includes the political economy of oil and gas in Alberta, Indigenous feminisms, the sociology of family and work, cultural identity, and Indigenous research methodologies. She is committed to advancing just transitions that center Indigenous communities, addressing the intersections of labour, environment, and climate justice.
Dr. Alook is a co-investigator on the SSHRC-funded Corporate Mapping Project with the Parkland Institute, examining Indigenous experiences in Alberta’s oil industry and the gendered impacts on working families. She is also part of the Just Powers research team, which produced the documentary Pikopaywin: It is broken, sharing land-based knowledge from Indigenous traditional land users and elders. In 2023, she co-authored The End of This World: Climate Justice in So-Called Canada, a book that imagines decolonial and sustainable futures grounded in Indigenous sovereignty.
As a researcher, educator, and leader, Dr. Alook is dedicated to supporting Indigenous-led scholarship and creating spaces for Indigenous languages, knowledges, and ways of being to thrive in academic and community contexts.
Director’s Message
Dear Community Members,
I am honoured to serve as Director of the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages (CIKL). Our work at CIKL is deeply rooted in supporting Indigenous and decolonizing scholarship, bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers to re-centre Indigenous languages, knowledges, practices, and ways of being.
As someone from Bigstone Cree Nation and a speaker of Cree, I carry with me not only my academic training, including a PhD in Sociology from York University, but also the lived experiences, values, and responsibilities that growing up in Treaty 8 territory have instilled in me.
My research has focused extensively on the political economy of oil and gas in Alberta, Indigenous feminisms, the life course, cultural identity, Indigenous research methodologies, and the sociology of family and work. Importantly, I am also committed to work on just transitions, examining what a fair and sustainable shift might look like for our labour force, our communities, and our lands in the face of climate change.
- Some recent highlights I’m proud of include:
I co-lead and participate in the Corporate Mapping Project (SSHRC Partnership Grant) with the Parkland Institute, investigating Indigenous experiences in Alberta’s oil industry and the gendered impacts on working families.
- Through the Just Powers research team (SSHRC Insight Grant), I have had the privilege to help produce the documentary Pikopaywin: It is broken, which shares land-based stories from Indigenous traditional land users, environmental officers, and elders.
- I am co-author of The End of This World: Climate Justice in So-Called Canada (2023), which imagines decolonial and sustainable futures and foregrounds Indigenous sovereignty in climate action.
At CIKL, we are working on several fronts to support the resurgence of Indigenous languages, to create funding streams through our Indigenous Research Seed Fund, and to ensure that knowledge creation is led with respect, reciprocity, and relational accountability.
As we move forward, I invite you all to stay closely involved, whether by attending our events, contributing to our seed fund, participating in language learning, or sharing your stories. Together we can strengthen the ties between academic scholarship and community knowledge, honour the past, and build futures grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing.
With gratitude and solidarity,
Dr. Angele Alook
Director, CIKL