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Canada Research Chair, University of Saskatchewan

Ranjan Datta, PhD. Canada Research Chair II in Community Disaster Research at Indigenous Studies, Department of Humanities, Mount Royal University, Calgary. Alberta, Canada. Ranjan’s research interests include advocating for Indigenous environmental sustainability, Indigenous energy management, decolonization, Indigenous reconciliation, community-based research, and cross-cultural community empowerment. He has a total of 45 peer-reviewed publications on Indigenous land-water and sustainabilities issues, and his recent book, Indigenous Perspectives on Land-Water Management and Sustainability, was published with Routledge. His two edited books Reconciliation in Practice: A Cross-cultural Perspective published with Fernwood Publishing and Indigenous Reconciliation and Decolonization: Responsibility, Social Justice and Community Engagement. London: Routledge. Dr. Datta has developed a strong understanding of Indigenous relational research frameworks in his 15 years conducting research with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Canada, USA, and South Asia, and his program of research would be supported by his existing network of Indigenous, visible minority immigrant and Black communities, scholars, students, practitioners, and professionals in Canada and beyond.

In addition to his experience in North America, he has nearly ten years of community-based research experience in Indigenous environmental justice, social change, and Indigenous well-being with Bangladeshi and Indian Indigenous communities. Working in Bangladesh as a research associate in a non-governmental research organization, he gained extensive professional experience in the fields of community-based research, decolonization, social inequality, developmental politics and globalization, and social justice advocacy. Having been involved with minority and Indigenous youth groups and people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region of Bangladesh, he conducted several research studies on Indigenous land rights, women’s rights, and environmental rights movements, and with numerous opportunities to engage with various government, non-government stakeholders, and CHT Indigenous leaders.

In Datta’s community service activities, he has been involved with social well-being and justice movements such as the Idle No More movement, First Nations land rights, community radio, the Indigenous language movement, the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre, and the Friendship Inn. He served as a board director for several community organizations, including the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon Open Door Society, Saskatoon CarShare Co-operative, Calgary Climate Change Hub, and CFCR 90.5 Community Radio. Through all these past and ongoing roles have learned a range of leadership skills, including networking, collaborative decision-making, and management. Perhaps most importantly, he has learned how it is possible to transform ideas into practice through commitment and collaborative engagement.

Experience

  • –present
    Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Saskatchewan

Education

  • 2016 
    University of Saskatchewan, PhD