Julia Christensen

Julia Christensen was born and raised in beautiful Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (Denendeh), on Chief Drygeese territory. Yellowknife is Julia’s home, but it is not her homeland. As a northerner, second generation Canadian and settler scholar, Julia’s work is motivated by the desire to contribute in meaningful ways to the northern peoples and places who have sustained her since she was a child. In so doing, Julia also seeks to build understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples through research, writing, teaching, but most importantly, listening and learning.

Julia’s work lies at the intersection between social, cultural and health geographies, with a specialization in critical research with northern and Indigenous communities, in particular geographies of home and homelessness, health and housing, colonial formations, northern urbanization, cultural safety in health and social policy, and social determinants of health. Julia also works with arts-based methods such as creative writing, oral storytelling, and digital storytelling.

Julia is currently the Project Director for At Home in the North, a CMHC- and SSHRC-funded Partnership that brings together over 30 university-based researchers and as many Indigenous and northern community-based organizations and governments. In partnership, At Home in the North seeks to collaboratively address the northern housing crisis through the implementation of action-oriented research and the development of responsive tools to support community-led housing solutions.