Jesse Thistle is a Métis-Cree author and assistant professor in the Department of Humanities at York University in Toronto. He is the author of the best-selling memoir, From the Ashes. Thistle is an advocate for the homeless. He is a PhD candidate in the History program at York University where he is working on theories of intergenerational and historic trauma of the Métis people. This work, which involves reflections on his own previous struggles with addiction and homelessness, has been recognized as having wide impact on both the scholarly community and the greater public.