Research Program

I have been a researcher in the Northwest Territories, Canada for ten years. I work with, listen to, and learn from Dene, Métis, and Inuvialuit peoples of the circumpolar North to conduct research that is of expressed cultural value and prioritizes these longstanding and collaborative relationships. Overall, I study colonization in the NWT (1800s-present) and the cultural resiliency and continuance of Northern Indigenous communities to institutional and climatic pressures. My research often centers Indigenous art as a primary access point of resistance and futurity

My research program is organized around four central tenants

Understanding the complex and interrelated impacts of climate change on Indigenous sovereignty.
Identifying barriers to equitable climate adaptations.
Understanding Indigenous resiliency to institutional and climatic barriers.
Advancing community-led projects that are of cultural value and support

Speaking to Elders visiting from Nahanni Butte. Photo copyright, Ryan Silke, Prince of ales Northern Heritage Centre.

Emerging Research Projects

The Kinfrastructure Project (2026-ongoing)

Details to come.

The Yellowknife Wildfire Project (2024-ongoing)

Project title: Smoke, fire, and cultural memory: understanding wildfires and fire management in Great Slave Lake, NWT. (2024-ongoing)

Funders: Trent University

Publications: Wenzel, A., and Larocque, B. (2026) The North Slave Complex Fires: A New After-Action Report. Special Issue of Etudes Inuit Studies. -Accepted/Awaiting Publication.

Caribou and Moose Hair Tufting Project (2016-ongoing)

Project title: Valuable Materials, Invaluable Relationships: Exploring Indigenous Culture and Sovereignty Through Moose and Caribou Hair Tufting

Funders: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council; Northern Scientific Training Program; Canadian Anthropological Association; Carleton University

Publications: In Progress

Wenzel, A. (2021) Circling Covid: Making in the Time of a Pandemic. Anthropologica 63(1): 1-13.

Wenzel, A. (2018) Tufted Caribou Hair Picture. Otsego Alumni Review.