Thomas (Tad) McIlwraith
Professor
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Guelph Institute of Development Studies
Research Areas
- Indigenous peoples
- Western Canada
- Ethnography
- Land use
- Hunting
- Settler colonialism
About
I am a cultural anthropologist in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. I work with Indigenous peoples in British Columbia, Canada, to document of territoriality, food and resource harvesting practices, and to identify the Indigenous rights to land. These days, this usually means an effort to understand contemporary Indigenous land use in the context of mining and logging. My work includes an effort to understand the attitudes and biases that underpin consulting anthropology projects such as traditional land use and occupancy studies.
I am also involved in interdisciplinary projects related to caribou conservation in British Columbia, Alberta, and in the western Arctic. Along with partners in First Nations communities and Inuit Hunter and Trapper Organizations, these projects draw on knowledge from Indigenous land users and biologists to understand threats to caribou population health and food security.
Teaching/Courses Taught
- Anth*1150: Introduction to Anthropology
- Anth*2660: Contemporary Indigenous Issues
- Anth*3650: Anthropology of Indigenous Peoples Before Canada
- SOAN*3020: Ethnography of Place
- Anth*6000: Public Issues Anthropology (not teaching currently)
Ongoing Funded Projects
- KBIMP: Kitikmeot Biting Insect Monitoring and research Program, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; New Frontiers) (Co-PI)
- Is Conservation Always Ethical? The Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Woodland Caribou Conservation in Western Canada (SSHRC, Partnership Development Grant) (Co-PI)
Opportunities
I take 1-2 graduate students per year in Public Issues Anthropology. Students who identify as Indigenous or with Indigenous-centred project ideas are particularly encouraged to reach out to me.
Current Graduate Student Supervision
| Name | Degree | Research Area(s) |
| William Sheahan | MA.PIA+OneHealth | Arctic food sovereignty and Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit Knowledge) |
| Maya Saltzman | MA.PIA | Jewish identity and summer camps |
| Mackenzie Colbourne-Tennant | MA.PIA | Indigenous student experiences |
| Brooklyn Barber | MA.PIA | Indigenous representation in Canadian museums |
| Autumn Perry (co) | MA.PIA+OneHealth | Manoomin (wild rice) and Indigenous knowledge in Treaty 3 territory |
| Samantha Scott (co) | MA.PIA | Indigenous student experiences |
Select Publications
McDowell, Graham. et al. 2023. The Canadian Mountain Assessment: Walking together towards an enhanced understanding of mountains in Canada. Calgary, Canada: University of Calgary Press. Open Access: https://ucp.manifoldapp.org/projects/9781773855103
Angohiatok, George, Vandenbrink, Bryan, Hogg, Ian & McIlwraith, Thomas. 2023. I Watch to See How the Land is Changing': George Angohiatok's Story of Changing Environments and Cultural Resilience in the Western Canadian Arctic. In Adrian Howkins; Peder Roberts (Ed.), The Cambridge History of the Polar Regions (pp. 32-54). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Nuxnuxskaca cts'e7i7elt, Sawllkwa (Water), Euale, Natali & McIlwraith, T. 2019. Doctors and Professors Aren't the Professors of the Land": Reflections on the Interconnected Environment with Splatsin Elder Nuxnuxskaca Cts'e7i7elt. Collaborative Anthropologies, 11(2), 1-25
McIlwraith, Thomas and Raymond Cormier. 2016. Making Place for Space: Land Use and Occupancy Studies, Counter-Mapping, and the Supreme Court of Canada’s Tsilhqot'in Decision. BC Studies. 188(Winter):35-53.
McIlwraith, Thomas. 2012. We Are Still Native People: Stories of Hunting and History from Northern British Columbia. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.