Dr. Rachel Bryant

Biography

Rachel Bryant studies colonial and settler colonial North American literary histories. Her ongoing research program focuses on non-Indigenous responsibilities in Peace and Friendship Treaties, building capacities on both sides of the treaty relationship. She supports land-based, Wolastoqewi-led education and is a member of the board at the Caribou Club. Rachel has written articles and chapters on topics such as captivity narratives by Puritan author John Gyles, colonial grammars in Canadian/American novels, Captain John Smith’s rejection of Powhatan kinship structures, and ecological exploitation in Shakespeare’s works. Her book, "Homing Place" (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2017), was shortlisted for the Atlantic Book Award in Scholarly Writing and awarded the Writers’ Federation New Brunswick Book Award for Non-Fiction. Additionally, she collaborates with Wabanaki artists and her work has been presented at regional arts symposia and published in numerous journals including AlterNative, NAIS, and Canadian Literature. Rachel previously served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Dalhousie University and continues to teach North American Indigenous literary histories at UNB Saint John, where she has received departmental awards for teaching excellence. As an active member of the academic community, she serves on various committees and as an Honours Advisor within her discipline.

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