Forestry programs at the University of Alberta will be strengthened through the integration of Indigenous perspectives with the establishment of a new $6.5-million research chair.
The Endowed Chair in Indigenous Forestry in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences (ALES) will support experiential learning, Indigenous-led courses and collaborations with communities, academics and industry to address today’s forestry challenges by engaging with Indigenous knowledges in teaching, research and practice.
As part of the total funding, $526,065 will be used to establish an accelerator fund through which a community engagement and research co-ordinator will be hired to support the chair’s community and student engagement activities.
The endowment supporting the chair is funded through the Forest Resource Improvement Program, the cornerstone program of the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA), with sponsorship from Canadian Forest Products Ltd. (Canfor), West Fraser Mills Ltd. and Weyerhaeuser Company.
“Stronger Indigenous partnerships mean stronger forestry,” says professor Nadir Erbilgin, chair of the Department of Renewable Resources, where the new position is based. “This new chair marks an important step toward a more inclusive, collaborative future for forestry. By strengthening relationships and advancing meaningful knowledge-sharing, we enrich our programs with diverse perspectives and lived experience.
“This ensures that our graduating students are better prepared to work collaboratively, ethically and responsibly with diverse communities and partners.”
The chair will lead a research program exploring relationships between Indigenous knowledge systems and western forestry practices, and will serve as a mentor to the next generation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous foresters.
“FRIAA supports the enhancement of Alberta’s forest resources by developing a deeper understanding of the relationships between human activity, forest ecosystems, species at risk and wildfire,” says association general manager Daniel Chicoine. “The establishment of an Endowed Chair in Indigenous Forestry aligns with FRIAA’s mandate by helping to improve the integration of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into forestry teaching and research, helping to foster a more inclusive, informed and forward‑looking forestry sector in Alberta.”
“This role will support Canfor’s commitment to building strong, long‑lasting relationships with Indigenous communities through meaningful dialogue, collaboration and shared learning,” says Tom Thompson, Alberta region general manager with Canfor. “This initiative advances our approach to respectful community engagement and collaborative forest stewardship by integrating Indigenous knowledge, values and ancestral land use into forest management. It also supports opportunities to work together for mutual benefit, strengthening relationships grounded in trust.”
“The chair will support our work by strengthening research, education and knowledge‑sharing that inform sustainable forest management,” says Richard Briand, chief forester for Alberta with West Fraser. “It will also help foster stronger, long‑term partnerships with Indigenous Nations and communities through collaboration, shared learning and capacity‑building opportunities that support community priorities for generations to come.”
“We recognize the important historical and cultural perspective that Indigenous communities bring to the management of Canada’s public forests,” says David Graham, vice-president of Canadian Timberlands at Weyerhaeuser. “Through our support of this new position and our ongoing engagement with Indigenous communities, we look forward to continuing to explore ways that western science and Indigenous traditional knowledge can complement each other in practising sustainable forest management.”
Expected to be appointed in the fall of 2026, the chair will have a strong focus on community engagement, hosting annual public seminars, workshops and conferences on engaging with Indigenous knowledges in forestry. Related research and educational resources will be published and made available to the public.
“This is an exciting announcement for the University of Alberta. Indigenous knowledges have been present for thousands of years in forest management as Indigenous peoples understood the cycles of living with the land,” says Florence Glanfield, vice-provost (Indigenous programming and research).
“We are grateful for the financial commitment by the forest industry and to the Indigenous communities who participated in creating a vision for the next generations of graduates, who will learn from both Indigenous and western knowledge systems for sustaining humans and Mother Earth.”