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Cody Groat

- Assistant Professor

PhD, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2023
Email: cgroat@uwo.ca
Office: Lawson Hall 2224
Office hours: By appointment only

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Biography

Cody Groat is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History and the Indigenous Studies Program. He is Kanyen'kehaka (Mohawk) and a band member of Six Nations of the Grand River. His father, William, was a survivor of the Sixties Scoop, and his grandparents, Stanley and Jean, were survivors of the Indian Residential School System, including the Mohawk Institute. He completed an MA in World Heritage Studies from the University of Birmingham (UK) in 2017 through the International Centre for Heritage and a PhD in History from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2023. His research is focused on Indigenous cultural heritage, including the commemoration of Indigenous peoples through municipal, provincial, federal, and international designations, as well as Indigenous governance and political sovereignty. Outside of Western, Cody has served as the Chair of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO Memory of the World Advisory Committee and currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Canadian Studies and Ontario History. He is an award winning public historian and has been recognized with the National Trust for Canada Governors' Award, the Russell K. Cooper Prize in Public Programming from the Ontario Historical Society, the Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for Exellence in Conservation, and a King Charles III Coronation Medal for services to heritage.

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Research Interests

My research relates to commemoration, Indigenous governance, and Indigenous poltical sovereignty. I currently hold a SSHRC Insight Development Grant titled The Kayanerekó:wa, Indigenous Identity, and Intergenerational Haudenosaunee Histories (2024- 2026). This will result in a biographical memoir called Seven Generations: the Story of My Father regarding seven generations of the Groat family from Six Nations of the Grand River (mid-1700s to the present). 

Books, Articles, & Works Published

• Always a Part of the Land: the Federal Commemoration of Indigenous Histories. McGill-Queen's University Press, June 2026 https://www.mqup.ca/Books/A/Always-a-Part-of-the-Land.
• "On Black-Indigenous Ancestry: Tracing Descent, Legislating Identity," in Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone ed by Jeffrey Richmond-Moll and Shawnya L. Harris, University of Chicago Press, January 2026.
• "Rural Poverty in Ontario: A Case Study of the Ingersoll Rural Cemetery Potter's Field," with Rebecca Small and Emily Kirk, Ontario History 117 (2) (2025)
• "The Stewardship, Preservation, and Commemoration of the Mohawk Institute," in Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute, the Model for the Canadian Residential School System ed by Rick Hill, Alison Norman, Thomas Peace, and Jennifer Pettit. University of Calgary Press, 2025.
• “Guardians of our Knowledge: Indigenous Peoples and the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme,” Canadian Commission for UNESCO IdeaLab Policy Paper, 2023.
• “Holding Place: Resistance, Reframing and Relationally in the Representation of Indigenous History,” with Kim Anderson, Historic Perspectives Dossier on Commemoration for The Canadian Historical Review, 102 (03) (2021), 465-484.
• “Commemoration and Reconciliation: The Mohawk Institute as a World Heritage Site,” British Journal of Canadian Studies, 31 (2) (2018), 195-208.
• Canadian Stories: A Teenaged Adventure with Presidents, Drag Queens and Drug Lords (Rapido Books, 2016)
  

Awards

• Russell K. Cooper Award for Excellence in Public Programming for “The Potter’s Field Project," Ontario Historical Society (2025)
• King Charles III Coronation Medal, Office of the Governor General of Canada  
• SSHRC Insight Development Grant, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2024- 2026) - $45,989.00
• Doctoral Gold Medal of Academic Excellence, Wilfrid Laurier University (2024)
• National Trust for Canada Governors' Award (2022) for Indigenous Heritage and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with the Indigenous Heritage Circle, Karen Aird, Catherine Bell, Julie Harris, and Catherine Cole.
• Canadian Historical Association - Indigenous History Best Article Prize (2022), "Holding Place: Resistance, Reframing, and Relationality in the Representation of Indigenous History" with Kim Anderson, Canadian Historical Review
• SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2019-2021) - $60,000
• Shortlisted - Viv Nelles Essay Prize (2019), L.R Wilson Institute for Canadian History, “Commemoration and Reconciliation: The Mohawk Institute as a World Heritage Site” British Journal of Canadian Studies

News and Media (Select Appearances)

• Global National (Antony Robart), “10 years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action, how much has changed?” (December 15, 2025)
• CBC Kids (Krishen Persad and Warren Huson), “Repatriation and the return of Indigenous cultural items explained,” (December 11, 2025)
• Agence France-Press, “Indigenous artifacts returned by Vatican unveiled in Canada,” (December 10, 2025) – including France 24, Radio France International, RTL, National Post, and Hindustan Times  
• APTN (Creeson Agecoutay), “Assistant professor in history and Indigenous studies Cody Groat talks Vatican artifacts” (December 8, 2025)
• CBC Radio Syndication, “As the Vatican repatriates sixty two Indigenous artifacts, another piece of history is coming out of private hands and into the public domain” – Calgary Homestretch; New Brunswick Shift; Montreal Let’s Go; Ottawa All in a Day; Halifax Mainstreet; Toronto Here and Now; Yellowknife Trail’s End; Saskatchewan The 306; Cape Breton Mainstreet; Winnipeg Up to Speed; Sudbury Thunder Bay Up North; Kelowna Radio West; London Afternoon Drive; Quebec City Breakaway; Edmonton Radio Active; Whitehorse Airplay; Victoria All Points West; Vancouver On the Coast (December 8, 2025)
• CNN (Lex Harvey), “The Vatican returns sacred artifacts held for a century to their Indigenous owners” (December 8, 2025) – including CNN Mundo (Spanish)
• BBC World Service, “Indigenous artifacts returned by the Vatican to Canada,” (December 6, 2025)
• CBC News Network, “62 Indigenous cultural belongings return to Canada from Vatican,” (December 6, 2025)
• Global News (Vasilios Bellos), “Hudson’s Bay Charter sold at auction” (December 4, 2025)
• The Globe and Mail (Susan Krashinsky Robertson), “Thomson, Weston families win bid for Hudson’s Bay charter” (December 3, 2025)
• Global National (Vasilios Bellos), “Hudson’s Bay Charter sold at auction” (December 3, 2025)
• BBC News (Nadine Yousif and Jessica Murphy), “A 355-year-old Royal Charter that survived the blitz auctioned for $13m in Canada” (December 3, 2025)
• CBC News: Your World Tonight (Karen Wells), “Hudson’s Bay charter to be sold in $18M joint bid: source” (December 2, 2025)
• CBC News: The National (Ozten Shebahkeget), “Hudson’s Bay charter to be sold in $18M joint bid: source” (December 2, 2025)
• CBC News (Ozten Shebahkeget), “’Best-Case Scenario:’ Hudson’s Bay charter to remain in public hands after joint $18M bid,” (December 2, 2025)
• The Canadian Press, “Vatican’s return of Indigenous artifacts applauded, but is it really a gift?” (November 22, 2025) – including CTV News, Yahoo! News, Vancouver is Awesome
• CBC World Report, “Hudson’s Bay Company Auction,” (November 20, 2025)
• CBC Radio Provincial Syndication, “Vatican to return Indigenous artifacts” – Metro Morning Toronto; Windsor Morning; Superior Morning Thunder Bay; The Morning Edition Kitchener; Ontario Morning; London Morning; Morning North Sudbury; Ottawa Morning (November 18, 2025)
• The Globe and Mail (Erin Anderssen and Eric Reguly), “Indigenous artifacts returned by Vatican will arrive in Canada in December),” (November 16, 2025)
• The New York Times (Elisabetta Povoledo and Ian Austen), “Vatican to Return Indigenous Cultural Items to Canada Taken a Century Ago,” (November 15, 2025)
• APTN (Creeson Agecoutay), “Assistant Professor Cody Groat talks recent news from the Vatican,” (November 3, 2025)
• APTN News (Sav Jonsa), “Manitoba premier says Conservative MLA mocked his speech on protecting rights for vulnerable groups,” (October 29, 2025)
• CTV News (Elianna Lev), “100 years later, the Vatican is expected to return these Indigenous artifacts to Canada,”(October 27, 2025)
• CTV Your Morning (Anne-Marie Mediwake), “Vatican to Return Indigenous Artifacts to Canada,” (October 27, 2025) 
• CBC Radio National Syndication, "Vatican to return Indigenous artifacts" – Halifax Mainstreet; Cape Breton Mainstreet; Winnipeg Up to Speed; Yellowknife Trail’s End; St. John’s On the Go; London Afternoon Drive; Sudbury Up North; Whitehorse Airplay; Vancouver On the Coast; Quebec City Breakaway; Calgary Homestretch; Saskatchewan The 306; Victoria All Points West; Kelowna Radio West (October 23, 2025)
• Western Gazette (Mikaila Kimball) “Behind the Bricks sheds light on Mohawk Institute,” (October 1, 2025)
• Western News (Western Communications), “Expert Explainer: Understanding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,”(September 30, 2025)
• CBC News Network (Deana Sumanac-Johnson), “Western University’s Cody Groat on National Truth and Reconciliation Day on September 30,” (September 29, 2025) 
• The Canadian Press, “Hudson’s Bay wants to go back to original plan to auction off 1670 charter: court filings,”(September 20, 2025) – including CBC News, Global News, CityNews, and MSN News
• The Globe and Mail (Susan Krashinsky Robertson), “Weston family sought to avoid auction in bid for Hudson’s Bay charter,” (July 31, 2025)
• The Canadian Press, “Weston family wants to buy Hudson’s Bay charter and donate it, according to documents,” (July 30, 2025) – including CBC News, CTV News and CityNews
• The Globe and Mail (Susan Krashinsky Robertson), “Weston family sought to avoid auction in bid for Hudson’s Bay charter,” (July 31, 2025)
• CTV News (Marcia MacMillan), "Consensus 'going to be really hard to come by:' historian on PM's summit with First Nation leaders," (July 17, 2025)
• CBC National News (Trevor Dunn), “National Indigenous Peoples Day,” (June 21, 2025)
• CBC Your World Tonight (Susan Bonner), “National Indigenous Peoples Day, Israel-Iran War Latest, and Indigenous Talent Boom,” (June 21, 2025)
• CBC London Morning (Andrew Brown), “Humanizing the Unknown Buried in Potter’s Field” (June 6, 2025)
• CTV News (Gerry Dewan), "Potters Field monument to be unveiled in Ingersoll" (June 6, 2025)
• CTV Your Morning (Anne-Marie Mediwake), “Indigenous Leaders Speak to King Charles III About Treaty Rights,” (May 27, 2025). 
• The Canadian Press (Sidhartha Banerjee), "Notman Photographic Archives receives UNESCO Memory of the World Register distinction," (May 17, 2025) - including CTV News, City News Halifax and the Toronto Star. 
• The World Radio (Carolyn Beeler), "Canada's Hudson's Bay Company moves a step closer to auctioning off its artifacts," (May 16, 2025). 
• APTN News (Dennis Ward), "Three Indigenous MPs appointed to cabinet - what will this mean for Indigenous peoples?" (May 13, 2025). 
• CBC Radio Nunavut Quilliq (Eli Qaqqasiq-Taqtu), “Indigenous artifacts are set to be auctioned off,” (May 9, 2025)
• CBC Radio The Trailbreaker (Hilary Bird), “Indigenous artifacts are set to be auctioned off” (May 7, 2025)
• APTN News (Creeson Agecoutay),“Will reconciliation continue with the new Liberal government?” (April 29, 2025)
• Western News (Western Communications), “Expert explainer: Why is the Hudson’s Bay Company royal charter important to Canadian and Indigenous history?” (April 25, 2025)
• CBC News: The National (Sophia Harris), “Hudson’s Bay liquidates final 6 stores, including Toronto flagship,” (April 25, 2025)
• CBC Manitoba (Josh Crabb), “Hudson’s Bay artifacts, including royal charter, can go up for auction, court rules” (April 24, 2025)
• Global News (Kyle Benning), “Grand chief requests halt to auction of Hudson’s Bay items linked to First Nations,” (April 24, 2025)
• APTN News (Creeson Agecoutay), “Why are Indigenous issues not being discussed much in this federal election?” (April 24, 2025)
• CBC Radio-Canada Zone Economie (Philippe de Montigny), “La Baie d’Hudson commence la liquidation de ses derniers magasin,” (April 24, 2025)
• CBC Radio-Canada (Philippe de Montigny), “La Baie d’Hudson commence la liquidation de ses derniers magasin,” (April 24, 2025)
• CBC News (Sammy Hudes), “Auctioning Hudson’s Bay artifacts with First Nations significance would be ‘morally irresponsible:’ chief” (April 24, 2025)
• The Canadian Press (Sammy Hudes), “Grand chief requests halt to auction of Hudson’s Bay items linked to First Nations,” (April 24, 2025) – including APTN News, Financial Post, and CityNews
• The Canadian Press (Tara Deschamps), “Hudson’s Bay to Liquidate all Remaining Stores, Court Filing Says,” (April 23, 2025) – including Toronto Star, Calgary Harald, and CityNews
• CTV Your Morning (Lindsay Deluce), “Concern’s Over Potential Hudson’s Bay Auction”, (April 23, 2025)
• CBC Radio Business News (Reid Southwick), “Hudson’s Bay Royal Proclamation Charter,” (April 21, 2025)
• The Globe and Mail (Patrick White, Willow Fiddler and Tavia Grant), “Indigenous leaders in Canada react to the Pope’s death with a mix of gratitude and unresolved pain,” (April 21, 2025)
• The Canadian Press (Tara Deschamps) “Hudson’s Bay artifacts won’t be an easy buy for cash-strapped institutions: experts,” (April 21, 2025) including CTV News, CityNews Vancouver,  MSN, and The Turtle Island News
• CBC Hanomansing Tonight (Sarah Galashan), “Hudson’s Bay looks to auction 1670 Royal Charter,” (April 18, 2025)
• The Canadian Press (Tara Deschamps) “Hudson’s Bay looks to auction off Royal Charter that launched company 355 years ago,” (April 18, 2025) – including CBC Manitoba, Toronto Star, CTV News, Financial Post, the London Free Press, BNN Bloomberg, and CP24
• The Canadian Press (Tara Deschamps) “’Crown Jewel:’ HBC’s Charter among the art and artifacts it seeks to auction off,” (April 17, 2025) – BNN Bloomberg, CTV News, MSN News
• The Globe and Mail (Susan Krashinsky Robertson), “Hudson’s Bay to Auction off Artifacts, Including 1670 Charter,” (April 17, 2025)
• The Chicago Tribune (Carolyn Stein), “How one Chicago woman’s genealogical search led her to a Potter’s Field in Canada,” (February 21, 2025)
• CTV News, “National Commemorative Ceremony for Murray Sinclair,” (November 10, 2024)
• CBC News, “National Commemorative Ceremony for Murray Sinclair,” (November 10, 2024)
• CBC Indigenous (Brett Forester), “Apology Long Overdue for U.S. Indian Boarding School, says former student” (October 25, 2024)
• APTN News (Creeson Agecoutay), “Biden Apology for U.S. Indian Boarding Schools,” (October 24, 2024)
• Toronto Star (Janet Hurley), “When They Died, They Were Buried Without a Marker. Inside the Quest to Restore Dignity to Some of Ontario’s Forgotten,” (October 7, 2024)
• Western Radio, “National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,” (September 28, 2024)
• Jukasa Radio (Andrew Dow), “Western professor weighs impact, meaning of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,” (September 24, 2024)
• CBC London Morning (Andrew Brown), “Remembering ancestors from unmarked graves in Ingersoll cemetery,” (August 26, 2024)
• CBC London (Isha Bhargava), “Search to finish her family tree led this Chicago woman to an unmarked grave in Ingersoll, Ont.” (August 26, 2024)
• CBC London (Isha Bhargava), “Researchers look to tell stories of Ingersoll’s forgotten at unmarked gravesite” (August 13, 2024)
• Western News (Crystal Mackay), “Potter’s Field project tells stories of forgotten community members” (August 1, 2024)
• APTN News (Creeson Agecoutay), “Returning cultural artifacts that belong to Indigenous Peoples discussed at G7 summit.” (June 18, 2024)
• CTV News Channel, “Returning Cultural Artifacts to the Vatican” (June 15, 2024)
• The Globe and Mail (Tavia Grant), “Trudeau urges Pope to return Indigenous items held in the Vatican’s collection” (June 14, 2024)
• The London Free Press (Heather Rivers), “When London school renamed, Indigenous outside City will have say.” (March 1, 2024)
• The Globe and Mail, The Pope supports restitution of Indigenous items to Canada. So why haven't they come home? (March 30, 2024)
• Woodstock Ingersoll Echo, "What is enfranchisement and how did it affect Indigenous veterans?" (November 17, 2023)
• OMNI News, "First Premier from First Nations" (October 12, 2023)
• Chelsea on 630 CHED "Honour National Day for Truth and Reconciliation" (October 2, 2023)
• CBC London Morning, "What is the lived experience of Truth and Reconciliation?" (September 30, 2023)
• The Morning Show with Devon Peacock 980  CFPL , "National Day for Truth and Reconciliation" (September 28, 2023)
• CBC Windsor (TJ Dhir), "Archives of North America's first Black female publisher, added to national register" (September 26, 2023)
• CBC Radio National Syndication, "Should 24 Sussex Drive be Replaced as the Official Residence of the Prime Minister?" - CBC London Morning; Ontario AM; Kitchener-Waterloo The Morning Edition; Windsor Morning; Quebec AM; Thunder Bay Superior Morning; Edmonton AM; Daybreak Kamloops; Victoria On The Island; Daybreak Vancouver; Kelowna Daybreak South; Regina The Morning Edition (August 31, 2023) 
• CBC London Morning, "Ontario Mayor's Views About Indigenous People Indicative of Systemic Racism" (August 30, 2023)
• CBC News, "Bruce County Mayor who resigned apologizes for 'ignorant, insensitive' comments about First Nation" (August 30, 2023)
• CTV Your Morning (Lindsey Deluce), "Rethinking the Prime Minister's Official Residence" (August 30, 2023)
• CBC News, (Rebecca Zandbergen), "From London, Ont., to London, England to see the coronation of the King" (May 2023)
• CTV News, (Daniel Otis), "Canadian Indigenous leaders to meet with King Charles on Thursday" (May 2023)
• CBC Radio One Afternoon Drive with Allison Devereaux, "Monarchy Critiques and Indigenous Relations" (May 2023)
• CTV News, (Sean Irvine), "Future of 173-year-old Elgin Hall residence to be decided" (April 2023)
• The New York Times "Vatican Repudiates 'Doctrine of Discovery' Used as Justification for Colonization" (March 30, 2023)
• A Little More Conversation with Ben O'Hara, "Doctrine of Discovery" (March 30, 2023)
• CTV National News with Omar Sachedina, "Doctrine of Discovery" (March 30, 2023)
• The Globe and Mail, "Vatican formally rejects Doctrine of Discovery that allowed colonial-era seizure of Indigenous lands" (March 30, 2023)
• The Winnipeg Free Press, "Vatican rejects Doctrine of Discovery, a move Indigenous people have long urged" (March 30, 2023)
• Global News, "Search of Kenora former residential school site turns up 171 potential grave sites" (January 18, 2023)
• CTV News, "Will the TVDSB rename its schools?" (November 30, 2022)
• CBC London Morning (Rebecca Zandbergen), "TVDSB changing historical names of public schools" (November 30, 2022)
• The London Free Press (Heather Rivers), "Review of Thames Valley school names could extend to British Royals" (November 30, 2022)
• CBC News (Colin Butler), "How an Indigenous voice on London's next city council could makea difference" (October 11, 2022)
• The Gazette (Hannah Alper), "Indigenous Studies Prof Cody Groat on Exploring his Family's Past" (September 30, 2022)
• CTV News, "Truth and Reconcilation Day" (September 29, 2022)
• Western Social Science (Rob Rombouts), "Indigenous Studies course focuses on 'resilience and resistance' (September 26, 2022)
• CTV News (Sean Irvine), "172-year-old home spared from demolition in Oxford County" (August 9, 2022)
• Toronto Today am680 (Greg Brady), "Ontario Education, the Pope's Apology, and Rogers Outage," (July 26, 2022)
• City News (Caryn Ceolin), "'I humbly beg forgiveness:' Pope apologizes for 'evil' of residential schools," (July 26, 2022)
• New York Times (Elisabetta Povoledo), "Indigenous leaders want the Vatican to return their heritage," (July 25, 2022)
• CBC London Morning (Rebecca Zandbergen), "Why collecting human remains is problematic," (June 8, 2022)
• CTV Your Morning (Anne-Marie Mediwake), “Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth and Reconciliation,” (June 2, 2022)
• CTV News Channel (Angie Seth), “One Year Since Kamloops Discovery,” (May 23, 2022)
• CTV News Channel (Angie Seth), “Indigenous groups call on Pope to apologize,” (April 2, 2022)
• CTV News Channel (Jennifer Burke), “Indigenous cultural items held by the Vatican,” (March 31, 2022)
• CTV Your Morning (Anne-Marie Mediwake), “Indigenous cultural items held by the Vatican,” (March 31, 2022)
• Zoomer Radio Toronto (Fight Back with Libby Znaimer), “The Vatican has a large collection of Indigenous artifacts in its collection,” (March 30, 2022)
• CTV National News (Creeson Agecoutay), “There were mixed feelings among Indigenous delegates who were shown artifacts from the Vatican’s vault” (March 29, 2022)
• Global News 640 Toronto The Alan Carter Radio Show, “National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Western prof offers free public lecture on Canada’s residential school system” (September 30, 2021)
• CTV London News (Gerry Dewan), “Telling a personal story to stress the importance of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation” (September 29, 2021)
• CBC London Morning (Kate Dubinski), “Understanding Residential Schools and Reconciliation,” (August 18, 2021)
• CBC The Morning Edition Kitchener-Waterloo (Jackie Sharkey), “Understanding Residential Schools and Reconciliation,” (August 18, 2021)
• Vista Radio Stratford, “Understanding Residential Schools and Reconciliation” (August 10, 2021)
• Heather Rivers, “Professor urges Indigenous name for London’s Ryerson Elementary School,” London Free Press (August 2, 2021)
• CBC Radio One Afternoon Drive with Chris dela Torre, “Understanding Residential Schools and Reconciliation” (July 22, 2021)
• Cody Groat, “Our Indigenous cultural heritage has sustained us since time immemorial” The Hill Times (September 28, 2020)