Jeannette Armstrong

Jeannette Armstrong, Syilx Okanagan, is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Okanagan Philosophy at UBC Okanagan Campus. She is a fluent speaker and teacher of the Nsyilxcn Okanagan language, and a traditional knowledge keeper of the Okanagan Nation.  She is a founder of En’owkin, the Okanagan Nsyilxcn language and knowledge institution of higher learning of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Ethics and Syilx Indigenous Literatures.

Jeannette is the recipient of the Eco Trust USA Buffett Award in Indigenous Leadership, and in 2016 received the BC George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award. She is an author whose published works include poetry, prose and children’s literary titles, and academic writing on a wide variety of Indigenous issues.  She currently serves on Canada’s Traditional Knowledge Subcommittee of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Jeannette was recently named to the class of 2021 as a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada.

Jeannette Armstrong was made Officer of the Order of Canada, as announced by Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, on June 30, 2023

Some of her publications include:

• Slash. Theytus, 1987; revised edition, 1998.
• Whispering in Shadows. Theytus Books, 1999.
• Breathtracks. Theytus, 1991.
• Enwhisteetkwa; Walk in Water (for children). Theytus, 1982.
• Neekna and Chemai (for children), illustrated by Barbara Marchand. Theytus, 1984.
• with Douglas Cardinal. The Native Creative Process: A Collaborative Discourse. Theytus, 1992.