Gordon Lyall
Historian

Gordon Lyall

Gord grew up on the West Coast in the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. As a historian with Mandell Pinder, Gord brings to the firm his relentless pursuit of knowledge and seeks to learn and grow from Indigenous Knowledge Holders about the long history of this place. In his academic work, Gord had the privilege of working with Indigenous communities and Elders on both sides of the international border and his PhD dissertation is a transborder study of shellfish harvesting and foreshore rights in the Salish Sea.

Profile

Gord joined the firm in 2021.

PhD, History, University of Victoria (2022)

M.A., History, University of Victoria (2013)

B.A. (Honours) with Distinction, History, University of Victoria (2011)

Expertise in archival research, primarily government records and records related to Indigenous Peoples.

Trained in ethnohistory and oral history methods.

“‘They might be Americans but they’re our family’: The Boldt Decision, Fishery Commissions, and Indigenous Foreshore Rights Across the Salish Sea, 1974-1994.” Indigenous Borderlands in North America Symposium, November 2022.

Chloe Kitt, Nikolas Lamarre, Aidan Moffatt, Hannah Tolman, Pia Russell and Gord Lyall. “Building dynamic teams remotely,” BCLA Perspectives, 13, 1 (2021).

Gordon Robert Lyall. “‘They smashed it right through our reserve’: The Problem of Settler Consultation for Infrastructure on Chawathil IR4,” BC Studies, 207 (Autumn 2020): 67-99. (Winner of 2020 BC Studies prize for best paper published)

“‘They smashed [them] right through our reserve’: Right-of-ways on Chawathil IR4.” New Frontiers Graduate History Conference, February 2019.

“Navigating Archival Landscapes of Injustice.” American Studies Association Conference, November 2019.

“‘They smashed [them] right through our reserve’: Right-of-ways on Chawathil IR4.” American Society for Ethnohistory Conference, October 2017.

Gordon Lyall. “On Privilege: Reflections on the Douglas Treaties Conference.” Scholarship and Activism Forum, March 2017.

Gordon Robert Lyall. “From Imbroglio to Pig War: The San Juan Island Dispute, 1853-1871, in History and Memory,” BC Studies, 186 (Summer 2015): 73-93.

“The Pig and the Postwar Dream: The San Juan Island Dispute, 1853-71, in History and Memory.” New Frontiers Graduate History Conference, February 2013.

“The Pig and the Postwar Dream: The San Juan Island Dispute, 1853-71, in History and Memory.” Qualicum History Conference, January 2013.

“From Dimlahamid to Delgamuukw v. the Queen: A Collision of Aboriginal and Western Historiographies.” Qualicum History Conference, January 2011.

Assisted in invasive species plant pulls on lək̓ʷəŋən territory for the Community Tool Shed project.