Owen Wilson

Master of Resource and Environmental Management (Planning) Candidate, SFU

I was raised in Waterdown, Ontario, on the Treaty territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, as well as lands traditionally used by the Neutral Nation, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and Wendat Confederacy. I recently completed my undergraduate degree in Public Affairs and Policy Management at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, where I focused on environmental policy, including a specific research focus on the federal and provincial governments' varying efforts and abilities to conserve biodiversity through parks and protected areas. As a self-professed "policy nerd," I love learning how policy can be best developed with community to reach our goals in a way that brings the most benefits to all those involved.

I am eager and honoured to be working with the Lasqueti community and the Indigenous Nations who are partners in the XLAP research. My research, as part of my Master's of Resource and Environmental Management program at Simon Fraser University, will focus on learning from the landowners on Lasqueti, to understand their knowledge, perceptions, and needs for support around the protection of Indigenous heritage sites on their property, to inform planning and policy solutions. I am here as a student and newcomer to the province and region, and my role is to learn from the community members and nations who have welcomed us to their lands, sharing their history and heritage. I am committed to the project's goal of finding more ways to honour, respect, and protect Indigenous heritage on Lasqueti, and I hope to contribute to the spread of the Xwe'etay/Lasqueti model for heritage recognition and protection to other communities as well.