Kasey Stirling

Doctor of Philosophy in Science in Oceans and Fisheries (Sep 2023 - Apr 2027)

Master of Science in Oceans and Fisheries (Jan 2021 - Aug 2023) | she/her/hers

ʔéx kʷ n̓ & pusu’l (hello), my name is Kasey Stirling and I am Nlaka’pamux, Mi’kmaq, and Acadienne. I am a status member of the Lower Nicola Indian Band in Merritt, BC. I am from Williams Lake, the traditional territory of the T’exelcemc Nation (Williams Lake First Nation, Secwepemc Peoples).

Throughout my life, I have learned from both Western science and Indigenous science. Balancing these pedagogies and developing a framework whereby they complement each other has been a focus of many Indigenous researchers. I intend to learn from what these researchers have developed and apply this balanced approach to my research with supervision from Dr. Andrea Reid. This is a topic I explored with other Indigenous biochemistry students during the 2018 Summer Internship for Indigenous Students in Genomics Canada (SING Canada) internship. I was also able to develop my own sense of this balanced framework by working as a teacher naturalist at the Scout Island Nature Centre in Williams Lake by teaching children through nature education.

It is both a pleasure and a responsibility, being an Indigenous researcher trained in biochemistry research, to bring a perspective of Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing as described by Mi’kmaq Elder Dr. Albert Marshall and his wife Murdena Marshall) to fisheries science.

Email: k.stirling[at]oceans.ubc.ca | Instagram: @kasey.stirling