Samantha da Rosa Holmes

Supervisor

Rick Fehr

Co-Supervisor

Jamie Baxter

Biography

Samantha da Rosa Holmes obtained my Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature and First Nations Studies from Huron University College in 2014. She earned a Master's degree in Geography at Western University in 2016 and is currently pursuing career opportunities in cultural and environmental education and conservation. 

Research with PWIP

As part of the PWIP team, Samantha's research explored how current land use management practices, such as agricultural tile drainage, effect ecosystems and landscapes, and how that, in turn, affects the relationship First Nations people have with the land. Walpole Island First Nation was the primary focus of the case study.

This research is important in its contribution to the ever evolving relationship between Native and non-Native communities. Land use management practices have not taken into account the cultural wellbeing of First Nations people. Samantha's research provides important insights in nation-to-nation relations within Canada, as well as a step towards sustainable land use management practices.

Other Research Interests

  • First Nations Traditional Ecological Knowledge and its practical and respectful application to land use management practices.
  • The relationship between Environment and Cultural Health for First Nations people
  • First Nations oral traditions as a foundation for environmental knowledge.

Master's Thesis

Beyond the Edge of the Planted Field: Exploring Community-Based Environmental Education, and Invisible Losses in Settler and Indigenous Cultural Contexts. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4358. http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/4358

Note: The full text of this Thesis/Dissertation is currently under embargo and is expected to be available as of December 31, 2018.