Tracy L. Friedel, PhD

Alberta Métis

Tracy L. Friedel is a descendant of the Lac Ste. Anne Métis community located in west central/northwest Alberta.

From a young age, Tracy enjoyed accompanying her Métis family as they undertook commercial fishing, berry picking and other traditional land use activities. These early experiences led to her love of overland travel. For example, in 2011, Tracy canoed most of the 1,260 km Columbia River system as part of the 200-year commemoration of David Thompson’s 1811 journey to the Pacific. And in 2014, Tracy cycled 1,760 kms of the Yellowhead Highway, from Haida Gwaii to Edmonton, to raise funds in support of Indigenous children’s care at the Stollery Children’s Hospital.

In her early career, Tracy worked at NAIT in Edmonton as an administrator of college-level business programs for First Nation, Métis and Inuit women. This groundbreaking program would eventually count over 350 graduates.

Tracy’s journey through higher education led to a Bachelor of Commerce Degree with Distinction and a Masters and PhD in Educational Policy Studies focused on Indigenous Education.

Key Positions

• President, Lac Ste. Anne Métis Community Association (current)
• Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Studies, MRU Calgary
• Associate Professor in Indigenous Education, UBC Vancouver
• Indigenous Leadership and Management Program Advisory Council, Banff Centre