Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson

Policy Advisor

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Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson is Métis and grew up in Treaty 8 territory (northern Alberta, Canada). Her Métis relations are the Cardinal (Peeaysis Band) and Laboucane (Laboucane Settlement) families. She currently lives near Rocky Mountain House in Treaty 6 (central Alberta). 

Christianson was formerly a Research Scientist with the Canadian Forest Service (Natural Resources Canada) and an Indigenous Fire Specialist in the National Fire Management Division of Parks Canada.

Christianson works with Indigenous Nations across Canada on fire stewardship practices like cultural burning and collaborates with Indigenous peoples from around the world on decolonising land management. She also studies wildfire evacuations and advocates for Indigenous wildland firefighters.

She is the co-author of the books, First Nations Wildfire Evacuations: A guide for communities and external agencies and Blazing the Trail: Celebrating Indigenous Fire Stewardship.

Christianson also cohosts the Good Fire podcast, which looks at Indigenous fire use around the world. She serves on the steering committee of the Thunderbird Collective, the board of the International Association of Wildland Fire and the international research advisory panel with Natural Hazards Research Australia.