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Royal Society of Canada

elected Dr. Janice Forsyth a Member of The College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists

Janice Forsyth, Associate Professor

PhD, Kinesiology, Western University

Janice Forsyth is a kinesiologist, interested in exploring sport’s relationship to Indigenous and Canadian culture, especially as it relates to matters of inequality, health, and social change. Her research focuses on the way sports have been used as tools for colonization, and how Indigenous people have used those same activities for cultural regeneration and survival. The insights generated from her work have shaped federal policies on sport and health, while generating critical acclaim and attention from scholars, practitioners and major media.

Areas of Specialization

Aboriginal physical practices, health and identity
Power relations and the body

Sociology of sport
Qualitative research

Sport and Canadian culture
Canadian sport history

Selected Publications

Forsyth, Janice. 2020. Reclaiming Tom Longboat: Indigenous Self-Determination in Canadian Sport. Regina, SK: University of Regina Press.
Winner of the 2021 North American Society for Sport History Book Award
Ross, MacIntosh and Janice Forsyth. 2020. "A Good Fight: How Indigenous Women Approach Boxing as a Mechanism for Social Change." Journal of Sport and Social Issues DOI: 10.1177/0193723520919817.
Wilk, Piotr, Alana Maltby, Martin Cooke, and Janice Forsyth. 2019. "The effect of parental residential school attendance and parental involvement on Indigenous youth’s participation in sport and physical activity during school." International Journal of Indigenous Health 14(2): 130-146.
McKee, Taylor and Janice Forsyth. 2019. "Witnessing painful pasts: Understanding images of sports at Canadian Indian residential schools." Journal of Sport History 46(2):175-188.
Wilk, Piotr, Alana Maltby, Martin Cooke, and Janice Forsyth. 2018. "Correlates of participation in sports and physical activities among Indigenous youth." Aboriginal Policy Studies 7(1):62-83.

News

skates and sticks of two hockey players on snowy ice

Indigenous sports organization in Alberta undertakes groundbreaking work

Janice Forsyth with her book, Reclaiming Tom Longboat

Forsyth book receiving kudos for her take on Indigenous sports awards program

football helmet sitting on turf in football field

'This isn't enough': Western's Director of Indigenous Studies reacts to Washington NFL team's decision