Jennifer Fresque-Baxter

Education: PhD (Geography), Wilfred Laurier University

Home Organization: Government of Northwest Territories, Department of Environment and Natural Resources 

Research Statement: 

Jennifer is currently the Manager of the On the Land Unit with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, which brings together ENR’s program responsibilities for traditional knowledge, traditional economy, country foods, public education and land-based learning. A social scientist and geographer, she engages in and supports collaborative research in these areas, with emphasis on research that is community-led and/or grounded in reciprocal partnerships with NWT communities to address local priorities and needs.

Jennifer grew up in Ottawa on the traditional, unceded territories of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People. She currently lives and works in Somba K’e, Denendeh, on Chief Drygeese Territory (Yellowknife, NWT). Jennifer obtained her PhD in Geography from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2015, where her dissertation focused on connections between water, place, identity and adaptive capacity in and around Fort Resolution, NWT. She has been an associate with Aurora Research Institute since 2019.

Current Research Projects:

·       Enhancing Community Capacity for Climate Change and Food Security Planning and Policy in the NWT (K. Skinner, Principal Investigator, J. Fresque-Baxter, Principal Knowledge User). CIHR funded.

·       Tracking Change – The Role of Local and Traditional Knowledge in Watershed Governance (B. Parlee, Principal Investigator, Fresque-Baxter, co-applicant). SSHRC funded.