Bonita Lawrence

Bonita Lawrence is a Canadian writer, scholar, and professor emeritus in the Department of Humanities at York University in Toronto, Canada. Her work focuses on issues related to Indigenous identity and governance, equity, and racism in Canada. She is also a traditional singer at political rallies, social events, and prisons in the Toronto and Kingston areas.

Early life Bonita Lawrence is self-identified Mi'kmaw, with Acadian and English heritage as well. She was raised in Montreal. She and her five siblings were raised by their mother. Their father, a working-class expatriate from the United Kingdom, was estranged. Lawrence claims her mother was Mi'kmaw but denied her Indigenous identity in an effort to keep social workers away after her husband left. As a result, Lawrence grew up under the guise of being white.

Education Lawrence obtained a Bachelor of Science in geology from the University of Toronto (1990), a Masters of Environmental Studies from York University (1994), and a PhD in sociology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (1999).

Since starting as faculty member at York University, Lawrence has influenced the academic programs and campus life there. She created the Indigenous Studies Program in February 2018. Lawrence's research and publications focus primarily on urban, non-status and Métis identities; federally unrecognized Aboriginal communities; and Indigenous justice. Her 2012 book: Fractured Homeland: Federal Recognition and Algonquin Identity in Ontario was shortlisted for the 2013 Canada Prize in the Social Sciences by the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Lawrence also wrote N'In D'la Owey Innklan: Mi'kmaq Sojourns in England, a histortical novel that spans 500 years of Mi'kmaq history in both Atlantic Canada and London, England.

She has also been a member of Community Council, a diversion program for Aboriginal offenders (2007- 2010); Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto (1998–2005); the board of directors of Anduhyaun (2000–2001); and the board of directors of Katorokwi Native Friendship Centre in Kingston, Ontario (1998–2004).

Publications