The next installment in the MSVU Research Office’s Black and Indigenous Speaker Series will feature Dr. Eric Oliver. Eric is an inuk from Labrador who bridges natural science and Inuit knowledge. “Bridging Knowledge Systems: Scientific and Inuit Knowledge of the Ocean and Sea Ice.”
When: October 24, 2025, from 12 to 1 p.m.
Where: Room 302 in the McCain Centre at MSVU [campus map] or online (this event is being offered in a hybrid format)
This talk will explore the processes specifically around understanding the marine environment in costal Nunatsiavut based on research conducted collaboratively with Inuit and communities in Nunatsiavut. In his presentation, Eric will bridge knowledge systems, ways of knowing, and ways of doing to holistically understand, address, and identify transformative solutions to research problems.
About Eric Oliver
Eric grew up in Goose Bay and his father’s family is from Tikkaoraluk Island and Rocky Cove, along the north shore of Aivitok (Groswater Bay). On his mother’s side, he is descended from German and English settlers along the south shore of Nova Scotia. These family roots have provided Eric with the ability to see and understand both Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives in the world.
Eric obtained a PhD in Physical Oceanography from Dalhousie in 2011 and has worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oceanography since 2017. Eric’s research focuses on the coastal ocean and sea ice in Nunatsiavut.
About the Black and Indigenous Speaker Series
Hosted by the MSVU Research Office, the Black and Indigenous Speaker Series highlights the scholarly work of Black and Indigenous scholars from across Turtle Island. The purpose of this series is to initiate important conversation by inviting Black and Indigenous scholars to share their knowledge, worldviews, and their contributions to their respective academic field.
MSVU is located in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq People.