Ellen Dobrowolski

Thesis supervisor: Dr. Carly Daniel-Hughes

Thesis title: Missionary and Métisse: Unsettling Conceptions of the Ethnic and Religious Identities of Sara Riel

Ellen Dobrowolski (she/they) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Religions and Cultures at Concordia University. She is a member of the Métis Nation BC and her family network spreads across the Métis homeland. Ellen's doctoral project, "Missionary and Métisse: Unsettling Conceptions of the Ethnic and Religious Identities of Sara Riel", draws on her background in both First Nations and Indigenous Studies and Religious Studies to investigate the life and work of Sara Riel, the first Métis Grey Nun missionary.

Ellen's research celebrates Indigenous histories and historical figures, and seeks to highlight Indigenous research methods and methodologies which center and privilege our experiences of religion, and our ways of knowing and being.