Lawrence Ignace

Lawrence Ignace, BA, MPA is Anishinaabe from Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation, located within Treaty 3 in Northwestern Ontario. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of Braiding Knowledges Canada, where he is also an active member of the Research Management Committee and the Indigenous Circle of Advisors.

Lawrence has had a distinguished career working with a wide range of organizations, including Ontario Streams, Environment Canada, the Assembly of First Nations, Health Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Carcross/Tagish First Nation, the Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research, and the Government of Yukon. His diverse roles have taken him across Canada and the world, enabling him to pursue his passion for advancing the understanding and integration of Indigenous Knowledge into policy and practice.

Lawrence contributes to the Reference Group established by Canada’s three federal research funding agencies to oversee the appropriate review of Indigenous research. He is also involved with the Swim and Speak with Salmon initiative, which advocates for the role of Indigenous youth in the conservation and protection of pacific salmon.

Lawrence holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from York University and a master’s degree in public administration, with a focus on natural resources policy, from the University of Alaska Southeast. He is currently pursuing his PhD at the University of Victoria in the School of Environmental Studies, where his research focuses on the intersection of science and Indigenous knowledge systems and how integrating both can transform our understanding of the world.

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