Erin Sutherland
PhD CANDIDATE – QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY, CANADA
MICHAEL SMITH FELLOW – SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES RESEARCH COUNCIL, CANADA
Erin Sutherland was the 2016-2017 Pre-doctoral Fellow in American Indian Studies. She is an independent curator and PhD candidate in the Department of Cultural Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Originally from northern Alberta, Treaty 8 territory, Erin received her undergraduate degrees in the Departments of Psychology and Native Studies from the University of Alberta. Her research interests include Indigenous and Métis curatorial methodologies, Métis histories, Indigenous performance art and the role of contemporary art in the project of Indigenous sovereignty. For her recent PhD project, Erin curated a performance series titled Talkin’ Back to Johnny Mac, which engaged with the 200th birthday celebrations of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald. The connected dissertation explores the role of the Métis curator and the methodologies and epistemologies engaged in by Métis curators, including herself. Other curatorial projects include Los Muertos No Hablan: The Dead Don’t Speak with Wanda Luna, and Memory Keepers: Methodologies of Memory, Mapping and Gender with Dr. Carla Taunton at Urban Shaman Gallery.