Savage Bear is a rabble-rouser, Nehiyaw’iskwew (Cree woman) and member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan. Dr. Bear is the newly appointed Director for the McMaster Indigenous Research Institute (MIRI) and holds joint academic appointments in the Dept. of Sociology and Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences. Before coming to McMaster, Bear worked at the University of Alberta, where she was the Director of the Indigenous Women & Youth Resilience Project and the academic lead on ‘Indigenous Canada,’ a highly successful online course boasting over 430,000 learners; she was also an assistant professor of Native Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies.
An accomplished academic, Bear has made significant contributions to Indigenous scholarship and the national Indigenous education landscape since earning her PhD from the University of Alberta in 2016. Her current research includes social justice, prison abolition, body and land sovereignty, sexuality, gender and reproductive justice, contemporary Indigenous art, and Indigenous literature. Bear also co-produces Tipi Confessions, a live storytelling show on sex, sexuality, and gender, featuring performance and anonymous audience confessions. Tipi Confessions highlights Indigenous, decolonial, political, humourous, creative, feminist, queer, and/or educational perspectives. The shows include spoken word, personal narrative, erotica fiction, burlesque, live musicians, and short theatre performances. When she isn’t marking, teaching or enjoying her new role as Kookum (grandmother) you will find her biking around Hamilton’s amazing trails.
LINKS:
- Tipi Confessions
- Bright Future Podcast Series from The Conference Board of Canada: Dr. Savage Bear, Episode 31.
