Deborah McGregor


Deborah B. McGregor is a Canadian environmentalist. She is an Associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Early life and education

McGregor is an Anishinaabe from Whitefish River First Nation and she was born in Birch Island, Ontario to Elder Marion McGregor. She earned her PhD in Forestry from the University of Toronto.

Career

After earning her PhD, McGregor was an assistant professor in Aboriginal Studies and Geography at the University of Toronto where she also served as Interim Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Initiatives. McGregor also worked at Environment Canada-Ontario Region as a Senior Policy Advisor. In 2010, McGregor co-edited "Indigenous Peoples and Autonomy: Insights for a Global Age" with Mario Blaser, Ravi De Costa, and William D. Coleman.
She was promoted to a full-time faculty member at Osgoode Hall Law School on July 1, 2015. The next year, she was renewed as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice, which allowed her to continue working on York's Indigenous Environmental Justice Project. Her research focus is understanding Indigenous environmental justice through a lens of unity between the environment and nature.
In 2018, McGregor published "Indigenous Research: Theories, Practices, and Relationships," which was a book exploring how respect, responsibility, reciprocity, and relevance related to relationships. She also sat on the Assembly of First Nations Advisory Committee on Climate Action and the Environment and attended the “Reconnecting with Mother Earth” gathering with 80 Elders and youth.

Personal life

McGregor and her husband Steve have two sons together.