We are an Indigenous-led lab dedicated to advancing anti-colonial and resurgence frameworks towards life affirming engagement with Indigenous literatures.
The Indigenous Literatures Lab is based at the University of Toronto and directed by Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) scholar Dr. Jennifer Brant. We engage in research, resource sharing and programming that aims to:
Uplift Indigenous literatures to promote anti-colonial literacies in educational settings;
Advance critical discourse analysis by utilizing existing Indigenous literary frameworks that take on a strength-based approach to teaching YA Indigenous literatures;
Leverage resurgence frameworks that weave theories promoting Indigenous cultural safety and build a strong foundation for ethical and anti-racist engagement with Indigenous literatures.
Click here to continue reading about our Protocols for Honouring Indigenous Knowledge for non-Indigenous educators.
Dr. Jennifer Brant introducing her Guest Lectures at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Brant’s work concentrates on Indigenous maternal pedagogy, researching Indigenous and woman-centred teaching and learning approach. Her work draws on ceremonial aspects of Indigenous culture, Indigenous women’s literature and ways educators can decolonize and Indigenize the academy.
Featured Content
Recent Announcements
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Becoming Good Relatives: Honouring Humanity within Indigenous Literatures
Join us for an insightful evening of conversation with Katherena Vermette & Dr. Aubrey Jean Hanson on April 8, 2025 on the main floor of the OISE library.
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Intergenerational Lessons from Indigenous Maternal Theory
Dr. Brant and Grandmother Shirley will offer a discussion on Indigenous kinship models from Canada for supporting mother work as a way to strengthen the work of raising up the youngest generations. Taking place in Australia, you can join virtually at 3:00am, Toronto time.
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Rematriating Justice: Honouring the Lives of Our Sisters in Spirit
Our incredible panelists, Dr. Jennifer Brant, Dr. Memee Lavell-Harvard, and Sana Shah, moderated by Dr. Kai Recollet, brought lively discussion and shared heartfelt stories about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls crisis.
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ILSA 2025: Indigenous Literatures as Sites of Language Reclamation
PhD student and Graduate Assistant in the Indigenous Literatures Lab Jasmine Rice will be presenting “Indigenous Literatures as Sites of Language Reclamation: An Analysis of And Then She Fell” at the 2025 Indigenous Literary Studies Associations (ILSA) gathering.
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AERA 2025: ILL Presenting on Teaching Indigenous Literatures
Dr. Jennifer Brant, Jasmine Rice, Erenna Morrison and Gayatri Thakor will be presenting their paper “Anti-Colonial Frameworks and Ethical Commitments for Teaching Indigenous Literatures: Insights from the ‘Since Time Immemorial Book Club’” at the 2025 American Education Research Association Annual Meeting. AERA will be taking place from April 23–27, 2025 in Denver, Colorado.
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Envisioning Anti-colonial Futures: Lessons from Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves
A new article by Rose James and Dr. Jennifer Brant to be published in the March 2025 English Studies Canada journal.
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Rematriating Justice: Honouring the Lives of Our Sisters in Spirit
Monday Feb. 24, 2025 | 5:30-7:30pm
Join Dr. Jennifer Brant, Dr. Kai Recollect, and Memee Lavell Harvard for a book launch event of the newly edited compilation Rematriating Justice: Honouring the Lives of Our Sisters in Spirit.
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New Chapter: Decolonizing Praxis: Thinking with Pedagogical Place Encounters
A new chapter is out in the edited volume, Teaching as Radical Logic. This chapter was written in collaboration with Dr. Fikile Nxumalo. and Dr. Jennifer Brant.
