Biography
Historian • Indigenous Studies Scholar • Author • Advocate
Dr. Crystal Gail Fraser is Gwichyà Gwich’in, originally from Inuvik and Dachan Choo Gèhnjik (Tree River) in the Northwest Territories. She is the granddaughter of Marka and Richard Bullock (maternal) and Gwen and Robert Fraser (paternal), and the daughter of Juliet Bullock and Bruce Fraser.
Dr. Fraser is a historian and Associate Professor in the Department of History, Classics, & Religion and the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. Her research, teaching, and community work focus on histories of residential and day schooling in the North, Indigenous childhoods, and relationships between colonialism, education, genocide, and human rights in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Dr. Fraser is the awards-winning author of By Strength, We Are Still Here: Indigenous Peoples and Indian Residential Schooling in Inuvik, Northwest Territories (University of Manitoba Press, 2024). Drawing on oral histories, archival research, and community knowledge, the book re-centres the experiences and survivance of Indigenous northerners within a history too often told from the outside. The book received the Clio Prize for the North from the Canadian Historical Association, the Best Scholarly Book in Canadian History Award, and the Best First Book Prize from the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA).
Her forthcoming book, Talk Treaty to Me: Understanding the Basics of Treaties and Land in Canada (HarperCollins, 2025), co-authored with Dr. Sara Komarnisky, invites readers into accessible and relational conversations about land, treaty, and responsibility. The project stems from 150 Acts of Reconciliation, an award-winning initiative published in 2017 during Canada 150, which encouraged everyday acts of learning and accountability between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Dr. Fraser’s upcoming research continues to explore themes of land, treaties, and relationality in the North, building bridges between academic scholarship and community knowledge to deepen understanding of Indigenous governance and resurgence in northern contexts.
Her work is grounded in collaboration with Indigenous communities and organizations across the North, including the Gwich’in Tribal Council Department of Culture and Heritage and the Northwest Territories Recreation and Parks Association. She currently leads several major projects, including How I Survived: Recreation at Indian Day and Residential Schools in the Canadian North—a community-driven initiative combining oral history, podcasting, and archival storytelling. Her research has been supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Kule Institute for Advanced Study, and numerous territorial partners.
Beyond her academic work, Dr. Fraser is a committed advocate for truth-telling, accountability, and Indigenous rights. She has served on the Governing Circle for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and was a founding member of the National Advisory Committee on Missing Children and Unmarked Burials. Her writing and commentary—featured in The Conversation, CBC, and The Globe and Mail—challenge Canadians to confront colonial legacies and engage meaningfully in reconciliation.
Her scholarship and mentorship are shaped by deep ties to family, land, and community. She prioritizes relationships, care, and reciprocity in all aspects of her work.
Dr. Fraser is the recipient of numerous honours, including the King Charles III Coronation Medal, in recognition of her national leadership in truth and reconciliation. Through her research, teaching, and advocacy, she continues to challenge Canadians to reckon with colonial histories—and to imagine more just and relational futures grounded in Indigenous strength, sovereignty, and knowledge.
