What is Blue Sky Research Lab?
Blue Sky Research Lab brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, scholars, and community members in research that is relational, place-based, and accountable. Led by Nêhiyaw scholar Dr. Paulina Johnson, the lab is based at the University of Alberta and works with Indigenous communities and collaborators across shared learning spaces.
Our work supports Indigenous futures by making knowledge accessible, strengthening relationships, and contributing to community-led decolonization. We understand research as something living: grounded in responsibility, carried by story, and shaped with people rather than extracted from them.
Led by Dr. Paulina Johnson
Dr. Paulina Johnson, Sipihkokisikowiskwêw, Blue Sky Woman, is Nêhiyaw and Four-Spirit or Plains Cree, and a citizen of Nipisihkopahk, Samson Cree Nation in Maskwacis, Alberta. Her leadership grounds the lab in Indigenous Knowledge systems, relational accountability, and community-connected scholarship.
She carries forward teachings held across family, land, research, and Ceremony, while braiding Indigenous and Western Knowledge systems through teaching, writing, and collaboration. The lab’s direction grows from that grounding.
Rooted in community
Community partners are the roots of our research. Their land-based knowledge, skills, priorities, and relationships anchor our work to place and give it life. As we learn together, we challenge neat boundaries between researcher and participant, theory and story, science and spirit.
Placed in Ceremony
Our research has no simple beginning or end. Ceremony helps us become attentive to the intentions of ancestors, lands, and generations to come. It moves our work beyond linear timelines and toward accountability to all our relations.
Our Research Team
Blue Sky Research Lab is supported by people working across research, teaching, facilitation, and community-connected practice.
Meet the Team
Hannah Louis
<p>Tânsi, Hannah nitsihkâson! I’m Nêhiyaw from Montana First Nation in Maskwacîs AB. I’m a PhD student and I’m interested in climate change and oceanography research and Indigenous ways of knowing. I’m navigating the tensions between being a Western scientist and an Indigenous person and what it means to balance the two.</p>
Drake Worth
<p>My name is Drake Worth, a fourth-year Sociology student and father since 2020. Fatherhood inspired my commitment to creating a better world for future generations. Mentorship with Dr. Johnson began my relationship with Indigenous Knowledges, fueling my passion for research that advances equality, inclusion, and respect for diverse perspectives.</p>
Senyuan Chen
<p>Hi there! I’m Senyuan (pronounced “Sen-Yen”), one of Dr. Paulina Johnson’s master’s students. I’m interested in knowledge production and Indigenous ways of knowing. My role here revolves around literature reviews, podcast writing, and data analysis! I can’t wait for what the future holds and what truths will be uncovered.</p>
Sharaya Hill
<p>Taanishi Sharaya Hill dishinihkaashoon. Hello, my name is Sharaya Hill, and I’m Métis. I am completing my BA in Psychology and Sociology at the U of A. My research interests include Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Land-based Knowledge and Decolonization. I’m so grateful I get to learn, grow and contribute to something bigger than myself. Maarsii.</p>
Luke Wonneck
<p>I’m a settler with ancestors from Germany, Scotland, Ireland, France, and Iceland. Like many of my ancestors, I love growing food and hope to one day make a living as a farmer. For now, I am doing my PhD on how Indigenous access to land in the prairies has changed over the past century.</p>
Sam Dancey
<p>I grew up along the border of Treaties 6 & 7, coming from Ukrainian and mixed European ancestry. As a settler, disabled person, and molecular biologist I am using my master’s research to understand what it means to uphold Treaty relations as a scientist and conduct research in a good way.</p>
Marieliv Flores Villalobos
<p>I’m proudly from Trujillo City, Peru. Since I moved to Edmonton, I’ve been questioning my role in the decolonial movement. I have a dog named Nala, who barks for social justice. I’m a Health Promotion and Socio-behavioural Sciences Ph.D. Candidate. My work engages with critical analysis of the relationship between biopower and intersectionality.</p>
Jessica Morrison
<p>My name is Jessica Morrison, I was born and raised in Alberta. I’m of mixed Indigenous and settler ancestry. My Indigenous roots include Red River Métis, and I am a member of the Otipemisiwak Métis Government. I hold a diploma in Alternative Energy Technology and a Bachelor of Technology with a concentration in Sustainability. I’m passionate about my community, our environment, and strive to foster connections that ensure a resilient future for all.</p>
George Sartison
<p>I’m George, and I am a settler master’s student of Dr. Paulina Johnson. I grew up splitting my time between Treaty 6 and 4 territory, where I learned and grew in the light of the relationships to my family and the land. My research interests include Indigenous Queer Ethics, combatting settler-imposed binaries, and much more!</p>
Eva Thompson
<p>I’m Eva, I come from Canoe Lake Cree First Nation in Treaty 10, but I was born and raised in Treaty 6 territory. I’m an undergraduate student taking a double major in Sociology and Psychology, with a minor in Indigenous Studies. I’m grateful for the opportunity to grow and learn more about Indigenous Knowledges.</p>
Darian McCullough
<p>I’m Darian and I was raised in the Klah’Ah Men Territory on the West Coast of BC. I am Red River Métis and am a recent graduate from the University of Alberta in in Sociology and Political Science with most of my studies focusing on Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Spatial Justice and Social Stratification.</p>
Giovanni Ursella
<p>Tânisi, môniyâw niya. It’s so nice to reflect on my journey here! I’m meandering through an Arts degree and came into the company of Dr. Johnson in Indigenous Feminisms class. As I was considering how ongoing, routine acts shape settlerhood, Dr. Johnson offered an ongoing opportunity to be part of The Auntie Is In-perfect! Thank you, Dr. Johnson!</p>
Community Collaborators
Our collaborators help shape the lab’s relationships, direction, and responsibilities. Their presence keeps this work accountable to family, community, and the lived contexts that give the research meaning.
Luci Johnson
Chris Johnson
