Taiaiake Alfred is a Kahnawà:ke Mohawk philosopher, writer, governance consultant and political strategist. His work focuses on the design and development of the institutions of Indigenous governance, Indigenous resurgence and self-determination, the revitalization of Indigenous political systems, the impacts of environmental contamination on Indigenous communities and the restoration of ancestral land-based cultural practices.

Taiaiake has served as an advisor on land and governance issues to his own and other Indigenous nations and organizations and has been an active supporter and participant in Indigenous governance and resistance movements since 1987. As a young man, he served as an infantryman in the United States Marine Corps. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Concordia University and his Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University. He founded the University of Victoria's Indigenous Governance Program, is the author of many publications, including four acclaimed scholarly books, has been awarded a Canada Research Chair, received Canada's highest Indigenous honour, a National Aboriginal Achievement/Indspire Award, and was recognized with the Native American Journalists Association award for best column writing. After 25 years teaching in universities, he left academia in 2019 to devote himself to working with First Nations to empower their nationhood and activate their right to self-determination. He leads governance reform and historical research projects in Kahnawà:ke and is Senior Advisor on Indigenous Initiatives at McGill University. He is an avid outdoorsman and photographer, and is the father of three sons, all members of the Wet'suwet'en Nation.