Chris Andersen, PhD, MA, BA(Hons)

Area of Study / Keywords

Metis nationhood; Indigenous data sovereignty; Indigenous identity fraud

About

Dr. Chris Andersen is Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta, and Special Advisor to the Office of the Vice Provost, Indigenous Programming and Research. He will soon step into a senior leadership role in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. He is an award winning and internationally regarded scholar, who over the previous quarter century has explored issues relating to Métis nationhood and peoplehood, Indigenous data sovereignty, and the sociology of law. He is the author of “Métis”: Race, Recognition and the Struggle for Indigenous Peoplehood (which was shortlisted for the 2015 Canada Prize) and a co-author of Indigenous Statistics with a new second edition in 2025. He has also co-edited landmark collections in Indigenous studies that shape teaching and research across the field.

Chris was elected to the inaugural cohort of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, served as Visiting Chair in Métis Studies at the University of Ottawa, and is currently a Fellow in CIFAR’s Boundaries, Membership and Belonging program. His leadership training includes the Kotter Change Leadership Fellowship, Harvard’s Collaborative Leadership program, Stanford GSB’s Master Storytelling for Authentic Leadership, and Georgetown’s Social Impact Storytelling certificate. He has led or partnered on competitive grants in Canada and the UK, including an Arts and Humanities Research Council award on Métis as a global Indigenous people.

A former Director of the Rupertsland Centre for Métis Research, Chris edited the journal aboriginal policy studies for a decade, served on national advisory bodies with SSHRC and Statistics Canada, and contributed to community boards in Alberta. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Alberta, an MA and BA (Hons.) from Queen’s University, and has supervised students across disciplines who now work in universities, communities and public service.