Sheryl Lightfoot

Sheryl Lightfoot is a globally recognized expert in Indigenous rights, global politics and public policy. She holds appointments as a Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Lightfoot currently serves as the North American Member and former Chair of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP). She is the first Indigenous woman from Canada to hold this prestigious position, where she provides expert guidance to the UN Human Rights Council on the implementation of Indigenous rights and supports UN Member States in advancing the goals of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). In this role, she provides critical guidance on implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in issue areas such as sustainable development, free, prior, and informed consent, and Indigenous rights in international law.

Previously, Dr. Lightfoot was a Canada Research Chair in Global Indigenous Rights and Politics (2013–2023) at the University of British Columbia, where she also served as Senior Advisor to the President on Indigenous Affairs. In that role, she led the creation and implementation of UBC's Indigenous Strategic Plan, a landmark Indigenous human rights-based framework to guide institutional transformation.

Dr. Lightfoot’s research addresses Indigenous-state relations, the implementation of Indigenous rights frameworks, and the evolving role of Indigenous self-determination in reshaping global politics. She is a leading authority on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), examining its transformative potential in policy and practice.

In 2024, Dr. Lightfoot published two major works: Indigenous Sovereignties: Navigating Global and Domestic Politics (Oxford University Press) and Reconciliation in Practice: Indigenous Peoples and Settler States (Routledge). These books explore critical dimensions of Indigenous self-determination, governance, and reconciliation. Her earlier publication, Global Indigenous Politics: A Subtle Revolution (Routledge), remains a seminal text in the field, and her research appears in leading journals and edited volumes. Dr. Lightfoot has authored numerous articles and chapters in leading academic journals and volumes, addressing topics such as Indigenous rights implementation, reconciliation practices, and the politics of state apologies. Her work is frequently cited in both academic and policy-making circles for its theoretical rigor and practical relevance.

Dr. Lightfoot’s work has been widely recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the Royal Society of Canada College and a Best Dissertation Award from the American Political Science Association. She has also received numerous major grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), supporting projects on Indigenous sovereignty, reconciliation, and the intersection of global and domestic policy. 

A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Dr. Lightfoot holds a Ph.D. in International Relations and a master’s degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Prior to her academic career, she dedicated 15 years to community-based leadership roles, including nine years as Chair of the Board of the American Indian Policy Center in Minneapolis. She is Anishinaabe, Lake Superior Band of Ojibwe, enrolled at Keweenaw Bay Community.