Amy Christianson

Amy Cardinal Christianson (born 1981) is a Métis fire scientist and policy advisor whose work focuses on Indigenous fire stewardship and wildfire evacuations in Canada. She is a Senior Fire Advisor with the Indigenous Leadership Initiative (ILI). She previously worked as a research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service (Natural Resources Canada) and as an Indigenous fire specialist with Parks Canada’s National Fire Management Division.

Christianson co-leads the First Nations Wildfire Evacuation Partnership (FNWEP), a long-running research and knowledge-mobilization collaboration on wildfire evacuations affecting First Nations communities.

Early life and education Christianson grew up in Whitecourt, Alberta. As Senior Fire Advisor, she works with Indigenous Nations on fire stewardship practices such as cultural burning and has advocated for Indigenous wildland firefighters.

In 2025, McGee and Christianson received the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Impact Award (Connection Award) for their work co-leading FNWEP.

Public outreach Christianson co-hosts the podcast Good Fire, which covers Indigenous uses of fire internationally and the ecological and cultural dimensions of fire stewardship.

Awards and honours SSHRC Impact Award (Connection Award), shared with Tara McGee, 2025.

Books and reports

Blazing the Trail: Celebrating Indigenous Fire Stewardship (FireSmart Canada; multi-author volume).