Dr. Oakes is Professor in the Department of Environment and Geology at the University of Manitoba. She studies the relationships between people, belief systems, and the environment. She is also interested in the meaning and importance of traditional activities, and works to document the traditional knowledge of First Nations elders.

Rick Riewe's research interests include human interactions with climate change in the Hudson Bay Region; impacts of northern development upon circumpolar peoples; wildlife ecology; boreal ecology; northern wildlife management; northern native harvesting and utilization of wildlife; northern land claims; environmental impact assessment; and the ecology of prairie grasslandsl; wildlife products utilized by Circumpolar Aboriginal peoples; the roles of aboriginal women in the domestic economy; and the ethnology of Circumpolar Peoples. He received a Ph.D. in Zoology from Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the University of Manitoba.