Lindsey Popken

MA, Marine and Environmental Affairs, Nuu-chah-nulth

About

My name is Lindsey Popken, and I am a graduate student in the School of Marine Environmental Affairs within the College of the Environment. I’m interested in sea otter conservation and how the field of conservation can be transformed to better meet the needs and interests of Indigenous peoples. As a recipient of the FLAS Fellowship with the Canadian Studies Center, I am co-developing a project with the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council through their Uu-a-thluk (“taking care of”) initiative. Enhancing my knowledge of Canada will help me better contribute to conversations with my partners and enrich the discussion of my data. Our co-developed project will focus heavily on Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), and we hope that the findings will help improve DFO’s working relationship with Indigenous peoples in Canada. FLAS will enhance my knowledge of Canada as an American student whose interests cross the U.S.-Canada border, which is vital for the development of my master’s thesis and future doctoral work. I hope to work in academia or in a research setting upon the completion of my graduate studies as a non-Indigenous ally for Indigenous objectives and resurgence movements within the field of environmental studies and activism.