Indigenous Knowledge and Philosophy, and her aim is to bring awareness to the stories of the Syilx Okanagan first nations communities, which pertains to a large amount of indigenous knowledge that is overlooked and majorly inaccessible. She is a consultant to the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California. This foundation encourages education that develops sustainable patterns of living. She has acted as a consultant to social and environmental organizations such as the Centre for Creative Change, Esalen Institute, Omega Institute, and the World Institute for Humanities at Salado ("Awardee"). As a campaigner for Aboriginal rights, Armstrong serves as an international observer to the Continental Coordinating Commission of Indigenous Peoples and Organizations. She was named as one of seven Indigenous Judges to the First Nations Court of Justice called by the Chiefs of Ontario and to the Council of Listeners in the International Testimonials on Violations of Indigenous Sovereignty for the United Nations ("Awardee"). Criticism and influence In her study of Native literature, Penny Petrone includes Armstrong amongst a young generation of university-trained Aboriginal authors who contributed to original creative works to Canadian literature during the 1980s (138). Critical analysis of Armstrong has generally studied her poetry and, more extensively, her first novel. Petrone describes Armstrong's poetry as "direct, unequivocal, and assertive, even aggressive" (163). In a 1989 interview with Hartmut Lutz, Armstrong relates that some feminist scholars questioned her decision to create a male protagonist for her novel Slash. She defends her choice, believing she portrayed both female strength and male development in the book. (Lutz 18). In the same interview, Armstrong notes, "I've been criticized by non-Native critics in terms of character development" (qtd in Lutz 15–16). She explains that she could not isolate the character of Slash from his community in order depict his individual nature and still compose the story for her people (Lutz 16). Armstrong argues that Slash's personal growth can be perceived through his relationships with his family and community (Lutz 16). In her study of Slash, Manina Jones catalogues a number of critical responses to the work; she says that many academic articles relate the difficulties of readers in understanding Armstrong's novel. Jones describes Slash as a work that refuses priority to speech or writing, insisting on a hybrid status (55). Jones includes the views of other critics with her own in showing that Slash is unique in its aesthetic practice and didactic purpose.