Rylan Kafara

Rylan Kafara is a settler scholar who has a BA, MA, and PhD from the University of Alberta. His doctoral dissertation was an activist ethnography of Pekiwewin (Nêhiyawak/Cree for the act of coming home), an Indigenous-led encampment lasting for more than 100 days in 2020 amidst a polycrisis including COVID-19, a toxic drug supply, and the forced displacement of unhoused residents from Edmonton’s gentrifying downtown. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Family Medicine and is researching how to make health care transitions more equitable for members of the unhoused community.   

A longtime harm-reduction activist, Rylan’s community-based work is grounded in his deep commitment to the relationships he has built and sustained with encampment residents for more than fifteen years. When not teaching or conducting research, he can be found with his friends in the nearest swimming pool, cheering on musicians at local shows, or amplifying other voices on the airwaves at CJSR 88.5FM.