Staff Profiles
Jonathon Swanson
Director: Research 
Jonathon Swanson is a member of the Michipicoten First Nation. He grew up in Chapleau, Northern Ontario. After completing his first year of a Bachelor of Arts at Laurentian University, Jonathon left Ontario in 1992 to travel the world. He returned to Canada holding a Masters Degree in Political Science (in addition to other graduate qualifications from Universities in Australia and New Zealand), and a strong understanding of the similarities of the experience of Indigenous People in other ‘Commonwealth’ countries. Mr. Swanson taught in the Media and Communications, Political Science, and Business Studies Departments of various tertiary establishments, including the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the University of Auckland. In addition to his experience in the public tertiary sector, Jonathon was also involved in education and training initiatives for the banking and financial services sector, non-profit organizations, and private educational institutes. NATO expansion was the focus of Jonathon’s Masters research, but his present research interests include Cyber-terrorism and Information Warfare, electoral reform, and the socio-political changes resulting from the spread of Information Technology. In particular, he has a developing interest in the possibilities, challenges and effects of digital communication for First Nations governance. Jonathon was an executive member of the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs for several years, and in addition to numerous other awards and scholarships, he received graduate research funding from the Peace and Disarmament Education Trust – a research endowment established as compensation from the French government for the bombing of the Greenpeace flagship ‘Rainbow Warrior’ in 1985. He’s also written travel and opinion pieces which have appeared in overseas publications. In his spare time Jonathon enjoys travel, cyber culture, world literature, and occasional freelance writing. He currently lives in Vancouver.
