Janna Wale, Indigenous Climate Scientist
Janna Wale is a Gitxsan scholar from Gitanmaax First Nation, who is also Cree-Métis on her mother’s side. A dedicated climate researcher and community advocate, Janna’s work is grounded in relational accountability and a commitment to uplifting Indigenous understandings of climate adaptation and climate resilience. Her research and leadership focus on the intersections of climate change, Indigenous knowledge, environmental justice, and community resilience.
Janna currently serves as the Indigenous Research and Partnerships Lead at the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), where she supports and co-develops research projects rooted in Indigenous values and community priorities. Across her work, she brings forward a systems-thinking approach that bridges Indigenous and Western knowledge systems, aiming to support responses to the climate crisis that are grounded in place, culture, and relationship.
She holds a Bachelor of Natural Resource Science from Thompson Rivers University and a Master of Science in Sustainability from the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Her graduate research explored climate resilience in Indigenous communities using the seasonal rounds model as a framework to reimagine adaptive strategies. Her work has since expanded across multiple sectors and geographies, including contributions to applied research on infrastructure risk, Indigenous inclusion in climate policy, environmental monitoring, and culturally rooted adaptation planning.
Janna is also a widely published writer, contributing to organizations such as the Yellowhead Institute, Canadian Climate Institute, and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions. Beyond her research and policy work, Janna supports numerous advisory and collaborative initiatives, including serving on international and national research projects that aim to build capacity for community-led climate action. As a young Indigenous scholar, she is deeply committed to mentorship, intergenerational learning, and amplifying Indigenous voices in spaces where they have historically been excluded.
Janna’s work is guided by a desire to protect the lands and waters that have sustained her family for generations and to ensure that future generations can continue to maintain these relationships. She believes that addressing climate change requires more than technical solutions — it requires collective responsibility, deep listening, and a fundamental reorientation toward more just and reciprocal ways of being in the world.
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