JEAN POLFUS

Jean Polfus is a Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellow. She recently completed her PhD at the University of Manitoba conducting genetic and traditional knowledge studies on caribou populations in partnership with the Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (Sahtú Renewable Resources Board) and five Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę (Renewable Resources Councils) in the Sahtú Region, Northwest Territories, Canada. Her collaborative research project built a comprehensive understanding of the identities and relationships among caribou populations and Dene people in order to inform and prioritize management efforts. She is committed to an approach to conservation that respects the lives and experiences of people that depend on natural resources for their livelihood, facilitates cooperative long-term problem solving, improves the performance of ongoing research, and affirms the value of community caribou stewardship.