Sally Weaver (August 24, 1940 in Ontario – May 5, 1993 in Cambridge, Ontario, was a Canadian anthropologist, the first Canadian woman with an anthropology PhD,^[1] a former chair of the University of Waterloo Anthropology Department, and an authority on Canadian First Nations.^[2]

Not much is known or recorded about Weaver's early life, beyond her birthplace of Fort Erie, Ontario,^[1] and limited background on her university studies at the University of Toronto. She earned an honors Bachelor of Arts (anthropology) in 1963, a Master of Arts in 1964, and she completed her PhD in 1967, all at the University of Toronto. Weaver was the first woman to earn a PhD in Anthropology both from the University of Toronto and, more broadly, in Canada.^[1]

Weaver joined the University of Waterloo Department of Sociology and Anthropology in the fall of 1966.^[1] She is credited with helping develop and grow the University of Waterloo anthropology program from a subset of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology in 1966 to a fully independent Department of Anthropology in 1976.^[1] Weaver served as the department's first chair from 1976 to 1979.^[1][3] Weaver was instrumental in founding the Canadian Ethnology Society in 1974, now the Canadian Anthropological Society (CASCA), serving as president from 1975-76.

Weaver's first book, developed from her doctoral thesis, Medicine and Politics among the Grand River Iroquois: a study of the non-conservatives, was published in 1972.^[4]

Weaver was a respected scholar and recipient of several awards throughout her career.^[1][5] In 1992, shortly before Weaver's death, the Society for Applied Anthropology in Canada established the Weaver-Trembley award in honor of her work and another well-known Canadian anthropologist, Mark Adélard-Tremblay.^[5][6]

Weaver died of cancer at 52, in her home at Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.^[1] Upon her death, a tuition award was established in her name to recognize her 27 years of service in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Waterloo and her international acclaim as a scholar of applied anthropology.^[3]

In November, 1995, the University of Waterloo (UW) Library acquired Weaver's working library and papers, a collection that was certified as a Canadian Heritage Cultural Property in 1994, "a testament to the scholarly and historical value of the collection."^[5]

When her working library and papers were acquired by the UW Library, Tom Hill, a native artist and then director of the Woodland Cultural Centre in Ontario, designed a special bookplate that would be included in all of Weaver's books.^[5] The bookplate featured an etching of a photograph of a "Woman with a Heart" wampum belt. The photograph was intended to be "a reflection of Dr. Weaver's lifetime determination and dedication to promote justice and recognition for Indigenous Peoples."^[5]