We respectfully acknowledge the territory in which CLEAR works as the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk, and the island of Newfoundland as the ancestral homelands of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk. I would also like to recognize the Inuit of Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut and the Innu of Nitassinan, and their ancestors, as the original peoples of Labrador. We strive for respectful relationships with all the peoples of this province as we search for collective healing and true reconciliation and honour this beautiful land together.*
CLEAR is a collective of researchers from a wide range of disciplines (from ocean science to filmmaking), career levels (high school students to full professors), and skillsets. As a feminist and anticolonial science laboratory, we understand introductions as a way to articulate our accountabilities and make our relations apparent.
These are the people that make CLEAR possible:
![]() | Max Liboiron (Michif-settler, they/them) Taanishi! Max Liboiron dishinihkaashoon. Lac la biche, Treaty siz, d’ooshchiin. Métis naasyoon niiya ni (Woodman, Turner). Hello! I grew up in Lac la biche, Alberta, Treaty 6 territory. I am the founder and director of CLEAR and am an Associate professor of Geography at Memorial University. Welcome to our lab! (maxliboiron.com) |
![]() | Brittany Schaefer (settler, she/her) Good to meet you! I’m Brittany. I am a settler who grew up on Dish With One Spoon Territory. I am currently living on, and working from, the lands of the Songhees Nation of Lək̓ʷəŋən people, the the Esquimalt Nation, and the W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations. My background is in social science research, and my past work at CLEAR includes data management for the ongoing plastic monitoring project with the Nunatsiavut Government. Currently, I am the lab’s Project Manager. |
![]() | Hillary Bradshaw (on leave) (settler, she/her) Hillary is from Cavan, Ontario. She is a candidate for a Masters of Science-Environmental Sciences. Her thesis work creates a baseline study of marine plastic pollution in Iqaluit, Nunavut, looking at macro and microplastics in benthic and intertidal zones. |
![]() | Christina Crespo (settler, she/her) Hi! My name is Christina Crespo. I am a Cuban American originally from Florida, USA and a doctoral student in anthropology at the University of Georgia. I am interested in how scientists strategically transform scientific practices towards more equitable processes. In particular, my research explores the ways feminist science shapes how knowledge is produced and how scientists are made. I am indebted to Latinx, Chicanx, and Latin American feminist scholarswhose work has shaped my understanding of and engagement with the world. I’m excited to be joining the CLEAR community and extend my gratitude for the opportunity! |
![]() | Edward Allen Atelihai, my name is Edward Allen (he/him) and I am Kablunangajuk; a person of blended Inuit and settler ancestry who identifies locolineally with Nunatsiavummiut. I am currently a visitor on the ancestral homelands of the Beotuk, where I draw on early, located values in negotiating my privileged semblances and personal complicities. I am interested in wellness as a function of the relationships that Nunatsiavummiut have with the Land and, as a student in Department of Geography at Memorial University and member of CLEAR. |
![]() | Domenica Lombeida (They/them) Hello, my name is Domenica and I am an immigrant from Guayaquil, Ecuador doing my Bachelor of Science in Geography with a minor in oceanography at Memorial University of Newfoundland and my main interest is pursuing a career helping the environment. I am a lab research assistant at CLEAR working on science and social science projects. |
![]() | Arif Abu (He/His/They/Their) I came to St. John’s, the ancestral homeland of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk, via a long journey which started in Chittagong, Bangladesh. I am currently pursuing my doctoral studies in the Faculty of Education at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. My research areas are epistemic justice, decolonial approach to internationalization of higher education and citational politics. concept of fourth-wave student development spaces within student affairs. |
![]() | Mel Flynn (settler, she/her) Hi, I’m Mel! I grew up in the North of England and I’m currently living in Dish With One Spoon Territory. I am an Geography PhD Candidate at the University of Leeds and work with CLEAR as a research associate in the “Plastics and heavy metals in Nunatsiavut foodways and environments” project. I spend my time co-organizing on-the-land workshops, doing developmental evaluations, and thinking about methodologies. |
![]() | Alexander Flynn Hello, my name is Alexander Flynn (him/his) and I am from Forteau, a small fishing community on the south coast of Labrador. I am a member of NunatuKavut and have settler ancestry as well. I am currently doing a master’s program in biology at MUN, researching population dynamics and stability of Labrador lake trout and contributing to other wildlife genetics projects. I am a research assistant at CLEAR working on plastic pollution samples from Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut. |
![]() | Rui Liu (settler, she/her) Hello! I am a diasporic Chinese settler on the homelands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Wendat, the Seneca, and the Haudenosaunee peoples and a MA graduate from the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto. My emerging research interests revolve around the connections between North American and Chinese settler colonial projects. This time around in CLEAR, I’ll be working on the Lab Chores project and other social science research projects. |
Sophia Jaworski Sophia (she/her) is a settler on the traditional territories of lək̓wəŋən peoples, and as a U of T PhD Candidate in Anthropology, a settler on homelands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. I am excited to be a member of CLEAR as part of the Indigenous Quantitative Methodologies project! My other work focuses on the uneven dimensions of chronic environmentally-linked illness in indoor atmospheres, with a focus on petrochemical volatility, low income rental housing, and gender. | |
![]() | Girish Daswani My name is Girish Daswani (he/him). I’m a settler living in Tkaronto, which is part of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant and home to many Indigenous peoples including the Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. I was born in Madras, grew up in Singapore, and my ancestors come from Sind. I am an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Toronto and am currently working on activist, artistic, and religious responses to political corruption in Ghana. My public-facing work has explored the ways in which colonialism and imperialism have impacted (and are still impacting) the University and the field of Anthropology. I am honored to be a member of CLEAR. |
![]() | Deondre Smiles Aaniin! Deondre Smiles indizhinikaaz. I am a citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. I am a geographer whose ongoing research agenda is centered around the argument that tribal protection of remains, burial grounds, and more-than-human environments represents an effective form of everyday resistance against the settler-colonial state. I am also interested in tribal cultural resource conservation and protection, research ethics with Indigenous communities, and interdisciplinary work with other fields! I am currently a postdoctoral scholar at The Ohio State University; in the fall of 2021, I will be joining the Department of Geography at the University of Victoria as an assistant professor. |
![]() | Riley Cotter (settler, he/him) Hey! My name is Riley Cotter and I am originally from a small community called Melrose on the island of Newfoundland, which is the traditional home of the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq. I have recently graduated with my BA from Memorial University and I have become interested in feminist, anticolonial means of conducting science. Within CLEAR, I am working on the citational politics project headed by Christina. |
Joseph Onalik Hey! My name is Joseph Onalik (He/him) and I am an Inuk who grew up in Corner Brook, Newfoundland on the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk. I am currently living in and working from Nain, Nunatsiavut, the homelands of my people, the Inuit (Nunatsiavummiut). I am working closely with the Nunatsiavut Research center as a research technician and also take on any work related to our community freezer. I am honoured to say I work with The CLEAR Lab on various things as well, such as co-organizing On-The-Land Workshops and sampling for microplastics. Taima. | |
![]() | Sam Morton (settler, she/her) Hello everyone! My name is Sam Morton. I grew up in Georgetown, ON, and now call St. John’s, NL home. I am a settler living on the traditional territories of the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq on the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador. I am a PhD student here in the Department of Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. My research looks at how different animals (like cows, chickens, goats, among others) are enrolled into foreign aid circuits and international development projects. I joined the lab in summer 2022 and am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this collective. |
![]() | Julia Keeping (settler, she/her) Hello there! My name is Julia Keeping and I am from Port aux Basques on the island of Newfoundland. I previously graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland & Labrador with a BA in English Literature and Language. Currently, I am in the 3rd year of the Marine Environmental Technology program at the Fisheries and Marine Institute. This semester I will be working as a Lab technician through the MUCEP program. I love stories and swimming outside. I am grateful for this opportunity to work with CLEAR! |
Madison Malloy (settler, she/her) Hi there! My name is Madison, and I am a settler currently living in St. John’s on the traditional territories of the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq. I am currently in my second year at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, completing a major in Ocean Sciences with a minor in Biology and a certificate in Indigenous Studies. I am originally from New Brunswick, and have been in St. John’s for just over a year! I am interested in learning how to ground equitable and anticolonial practices in research. I am excited to join CLEAR as a lab technician this semester! | |
![]() | Haley Winsor (settler, she/her) Hello! My name is Haley Winsor, and I grew up in Portugal Cove-St. Philips on the island of Newfoundland. I am currently completing my fourth year of my Bachelor of Science in Behavioral neuroscience with a minor in biology at Memorial University. I will be working as a lab technician this semester through MUCEP, and am really looking forward to it! |
Draco Dunphy | |
![]() | Megan Costain Hello! My name is Megan (settler, she/her) and I’m from Quispamsis, New Brunswick on the traditional territories of the Maliseet. I’m in my third year of my BSc at Memorial University, double majoring in Biology and Psychology. This semester I am working as a lab technician through MUCEP, and am super excited to be working with CLEAR! |
Tai Henderson Hello! My name is Tai (they/them), and I’m a Black student at the University of Georgia, living and working on the ancestral homelands of the Muscogee Creek and Cherokee. I am currently completing my fourth and final year of a BA in Women’s Studies and LGBTQ Studies. My work tends to revolve around citational politics, Black and queer critiques of the Human, and feminist methodology. I’m also ecstatic to say that I’m a research assistant here at CLEAR, working on the Lab Chores project with Sophia & Rui. | |
![]() | Rivers Cafferty (settler, he/they) Hi! My name is Rivers Cafferty. I am a settler currently living on the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. I am a Psychology student at Memorial University of Newfoundland. I joined CLEAR in 2023 as a research assistant. I have interests in indigenous history and anti-colonialism as well as trans-inclusive feminism. Working at CLEAR has been an exemplary place for me to develop my values and become a better version of myself. |
Alumni of our lab include: Tiaasha Naskar, Tammy Sheppard, Forough Emam, Zhe Shi, Celestine Muli, Carley Mills, Emily Wells, Tristen Morris, Melissa Novachefski, Natalya Dawe, Coco Coyle, Mikayla Downey, Erin Burt, Juddyannet Murichi, Natalie Richárd, France Liboiron, Marissa Van Harmelen, Taylor Stocks, Alexandra Hayward, Justine Ammendolia, Kate Winsor, Sam Welscott, Ignace Schoot, Nic Kuzmochka, Kelechi Emmanuel Anyaeto, Shramana Sarkar, Charlotte Muise, Lucas Harris, Jillian Chidley, Michael Broz, Luke Lucy-Broomfield, Megan Dicker, Jacquelyn Saturno, Lauren Watwood, Dr. Iwalaye (Ayo) Oladimeji, Emily Simmonds, Natasha Healey, Noah Hutton, Taylor Hess, Hridisha Arif, Melissa Paglia, John Atkinson, Anna Malone, Paddy Dawe, Abdul Rahat, Elise Earles, Kaitlyn Hawkins, Molly Rivers, Willa Neilsen, Morgan Davidson, Elizabeth Adeyemo, Alyson Park, Sarah Crocker, Jasmine Burt, Kiersten Gulliver, Alana Derry (twice!), Emma Ford, Vidyashini (Vidhu) Thamodharan, Jefta Merkuratsuk, Alex Zahara, Morgan Manuel, Susannah Polack-Finley, Dr. Charles Mather, Dr. Nicole Power, Nadia Duman, Silvana Rodrigues Pereira, Sid Ford, Janine O’Rielly, Mukhtara Yusuf, Joe Wark, Charlotte Florian, Dani Nowosad, Paige LeDrew, and Jess Melvin (twice!).
Artists in residence have included: Bojan Fürst, Mukhtara Yusuf, Emily Roehl, Prakash Krishnan, and Pam Hall.
* This Land acknowledgment for Memorial University, which has campuses in various parts of the province, was created by the five Indigenous groups in the province together.