Dr. Sonya Atalay is an Anishinaabe-Ojibwe scholar, research, and faculty member. She is the co-founder and leader of CBIKS. CBIKS is a center that engages in community-based research that undertakes place-based studies and projects in partnership with institutions and 57 Indigenous communities in eight international “hubs” in the U.S., Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. They examine how to effectively and ethically braid Indigenous and Western science research, education, and practice related to the urgent and interconnected challenges of climate adaptation, food security, and preservation of cultural heritage and place for our partner communities. The center’s team of more than 50 scientists—including more than 30 of the world’s leading Indigenous natural, environmental and social scientists, representing Native American, First Nations, Métis, Native Hawaiian, Alaska Native, Māori and Aboriginal Australian peoples—works cross-culturally, involving Indigenous community members, scholars, and scientific researchers
