Janice Forsyth facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Janice Forsyth
Janice Forsyth (2017)
Born	Toronto, Ontario
Education	University of Western Ontario

Janice Forsyth is a Canadian expert who studies how society and culture affect people. She is a professor of Sociology at Western University in London, Ontario. She also leads the Indigenous Studies program there.

Before becoming a professor, Janice was a talented athlete. In 2002, she won the Tom Longboat Regional Award for Ontario. This award celebrates Indigenous athletes.

Early Life and School

Janice Forsyth was born in Toronto, Ontario. She grew up in the northern part of Ontario. Her family roots are from the Fisher River Cree and Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, Canada.

Janice went to Western University for all her college degrees. She earned a BA in 1997, a MA in 2000, and a PhD in 2005. For her PhD, she studied how sports connect with society and culture.

While at Western University, Janice was a varsity athlete. She won several awards for her sports skills. She earned a medal in badminton at the Ontario University Athletics Championships. She also won a silver medal in the 3000 metres race in 1995. In 2002, she received the Tom Longboat Regional Award for Ontario at the North American Indigenous Games.

Janice Forsyth's Career

After finishing her studies, Janice became a professor. She taught at the University of Manitoba from 2005 to 2008. Then, she taught at the University of Alberta from 2008 to 2009.

In 2010, she returned to Western University. She became a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences. She also directed the International Centre for Olympic Studies at Western until 2015.

Research and Books

Janice Forsyth's research focuses on several important topics. She studies the Olympic Games and how sports affect Indigenous communities. She also looks at fairness in Canadian sports. Her work explores the history of sport and how it was affected by the residential school system.

In 2020, Janice published a book called Reclaiming Tom Longboat: Indigenous Self-Determination in Canadian Sport. The book discusses the Tom Longboat Award. This award is named after Onondaga long-distance runner Tom Longboat. Janice's book explains that the award has sometimes been used in ways that did not truly help Indigenous people.

Janice believes that sports are not just about playing games. She says that sports often show what a society values. She explained in an interview that "Sport is not value-free." This means that sports can carry ideas and beliefs that might not fit with Indigenous cultures.

Working with Media

Beyond her university work, Janice writes articles for news websites. She has written for HuffPost Canada and The Guardian. Many news outlets have also interviewed her. These include the Toronto Star, SportsNet, The Globe and Mail, CBC, and the Aboriginal People's Television Network.

Since 2017, Janice has been leading discussions about sports and healing. These talks are based on reports from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. These reports, released in 2015, aim to help Canada heal from past harms. Janice works with government and sports groups on these important discussions.

Awards and Recognition

Janice Forsyth has received several awards for her work.

• In 2013, she won the NASSH Book of the Year Award. This was for a book she helped edit called Aboriginal Peoples and Sport in Canada: Historical Foundations and Contemporary Issues. She also received the Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Innovation.
• In 2015, she won an award for the best paper published in the journal Sport History. Her article was titled "Make the Indian Understand his Place: Politics and the Establishment of the Tom Longboat Awards at Indian Affairs and the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada."

Selected Publications

• Forsyth, J. & Wamsley, K. (2006). ‘Native to Native we'll recapture our spirits’: The World Indigenous Nations Games and the North American Indigenous Games as cultural resistance. International Journal of History of Sport, 23(2), 294–314.
• Forsyth, J. (2007). The Indian Act and the (re)shaping of Canadian Aboriginal sport practices. International Journal of Canadian Studies, 35, 95–111.
• Forsyth, J. & Wamsley, K. (2005). Symbols without substance: Aboriginal peoples and the illusion of Olympic ceremonies. In K. Young & K. Wamsley (Eds.), Global Olympics: Historical Foundations and Sociological Studies of the Modern Games (pp. 227–247). Oxford, UK: Elsevier Press.
• Forsyth, J. (2005). After the fur trade: First Nations women in Canadian history, 1850–1950. Atlantis, 29(2), 69–78.
• Forsyth, J. (2013). Bodies of meaning: Sports and games at Canadian residential schools. In J. Forsyth & A. Giles (Eds.), Aboriginal Peoples and Sport in Canada: Historical Foundations and Contemporary Issues (pp. 15–34). Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.
• Forsyth, J. (2020). Reclaiming Tom Longboat: Indigenous self-determination in Canada sport. University of Regina Press.