Cody Groat

Cody Groat is a Canadian scholar and historian, who focuses on the federal commemoration of Indigenous history from 1919 to present. He is a Kanyen'kehaka citizen and band member of Six Nations of the Grand River.^[1][2]

Early life

Cody grew up in Ingersoll, Ontario.^[3] His grandparents were survivors of the Canadian Indian residential school system, and his father a survivor of the Sixties Scoop.^[4]

Education

Groat holds a Master of Arts in World Heritage Studies from the University of Birmingham^[5] and earned his PhD in History at Wilfrid Laurier University.^[6]

Career

Early in his academic career, Groat published a compilation of more than 30 interviews with famous Canadians, including Paul Martin, Kim Campbell, Dan Aykroyd, and Farley Mowat.^[7][3] He is currently a professor at University of Western Ontario in the Department of History and the Indigenous Studies program^[8] As a historian and academic, Cody Groat has been interviewed in relation to Truth and Reconciliation in Canada by news outlets such as The New York Times,^[9] CBC News,^[1] and Global News.^[10] He is a former President of the Board of Directors for the Indigenous Heritage Circle^[11] and is currently Chair of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO's Memory of the World National Committee.^[12]

Politics

Groat was the New Democratic Party candidate for the 2023 Oxford federal by-election, having defeated former candidate Matthew Chambers for the nomination.^[13]

Electoral history

v t e Canadian federal by-election, June 19, 2023: Oxford Resignation of Dave MacKenzie
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Arpan Khanna	16,688	42.92	-4.13
	Liberal	David Hilderley	14,164	36.43	+15.90
	New Democratic	Cody Groat	4,053	10.42	-7.86
	Christian Heritage	John Markus	1,672	4.30	+3.53
	People's	Wendy Martin	1,278	3.29	-7.36
	Green	Cheryle Baker	854	2.20	-0.52
	Independent	John The Engineer Turmel	171	0.44
Total valid votes			38,880	99.38
Total rejected ballots			243	0.62	+0.01
Turnout			39,123	39.81	-25.08
Eligible voters			98,270
	Conservative hold		Swing		-10.01
Source: Elections Canada[14]

Awards

• 2022: Canadian Historical Association's Indigenous History Best Article Prize^[15]
• SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (2019-2021)^[16]

Publications

• • “Holding Place: Resistance, Reframing and Relationally in the Representation of Indigenous History,” with Kim Anderson, Historic Perspectives Dossier on Commemoration for The Canadian Historical Review, 2021, Vol. 102 (03), pp. 465–484.^[17]
  • “Commemoration and Reconciliation: The Mohawk Institute as a World Heritage Site,” British Journal of Canadian Studies, 2018, Vol. 31 (2), pp. 195–208.^[18]
  • Canadian Stories: A Teenaged Adventure with Presidents, Drag Queens and Drug Lords (Rapido Books, 2016)^[19]
  • “Indigenous Peoples and the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme,” Canadian Commission for UNESCO IdeaLabs Policy Paper, forthcoming.