Author Positioning

This resource was created out of the authors’ shared commitment to social justice, Reconciliation, health equity, and decolonization. We approach knowledge justice through critical and decolonial theories, shaped by our experiences as scholars in education and in information and health sciences.

This work was created within the context of Turtle Island, in the settler-colonial state now known as Canada. When we refer to ‘Indigenous’ in this resource, we do so from our local context, where the term refers to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples. More specifically, Western University is situated on the ancestral territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton Nations, on lands associated with the London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796, and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum (Chitty, 2023). We encourage readers from other regions to consider how these lessons apply to your local context and your relationships with the land and its original caretakers.

Throughout this resource, we highlight epistemic injustices related to race, ethnicity, and Indigenous sovereignty. We acknowledge that knowledge injustice also impacts many other groups, some of whom may not be centred in this resource. We emphasize race and Indigenous Sovereignty in support of advancing Truth and Reconciliation, including: “developing teaching and training materials that foster intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect” (TRC, 2015). Western University, through its affiliation with Huron University, is also connected to Indian Residential Schools and colonial legacies (Cross & Peace, 2021).  We also want to recognize the complex history of London, Ontario (where Western University is located) including both its connections to the transatlantic slave trade, and the Underground Railroad (Archives of Ontario, 2025), as well as Western’s complex relationship with Black communities (Western University, 2020).

Your authors hold diverse social identities and intersections, but we recognize our shared privilege as university employees, and as settler-scholars, as defined by Tuck and Yang (2012). You can find our author biographies at the end of this resource and our video reflections throughout its chapters. We believe it is important to be transparent about who we are, how we came to this work, and how our social positions influence our understanding of knowledge justice. At the same time, we may be keeping elements of our social positioning private due to the open nature of this resource. We also recognize that, despite our efforts, we undoubtedly have made mistakes. If you encounter issues or concerns with this resource, please contact the editors via the page Using this Resource. A teaching companion outlining our pedagogical choices for this guide is forthcoming.

In this video, authors Heather Campbell, Britney Glasgow, Kathryn Holmes, and Lea Sansom introduce themselves. You’ll meet the other authors in Chapter 1.