As of July 1, 2016, Dr. Tracy Bear has joined the Department of Women's and Gender Studies as an Assistant Professor in a cross-appointment from Native Studies.
Dr. Bear is a Nehiyaw'iskwew (Cree woman) academic and member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation located in Northern Saskatchewan. She recently completed her PhD in English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta with a dissertation entitled "Corporeal Sovereignty Through the Praxis of an Indigenous Eroticanalysis." Her research is grounded in decolonial methodologies and epistemologies of Indigenous Studies with specific research interests in Indigenous Erotics & Eroticanalysis; Indigenous Feminism, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Sovereignty, Land & Body Politics; Indigenous Queer & Two-Spirit Studies; and Contemporary Indigenous Art.
Another central influence for her work is her experience of being a member of the National Collective of Walking With Our Sisters (WWOS). WWOS is a memorial art installation that honours and remembers the over 1400 missing and murdered Indigenous Women, girls and genderful people in Canada.
Starting with the 2017/8 academic year, Dr. Bear will be teaching annually an