I’m an educational studies scholar by training, which has allowed me to pursue questions of pedagogy and methodology at the intersection of Native American and Educational Studies. My research focuses on the horse/human relationship in Native American communities using an Indigenous feminist lens. My intention is to develop an applied academic discipline of Indigenous animal studies. My research agenda includes Indigenous methodology, participatory action research, and qualitative methodologies which engage with questions of human-equine interactions of all kinds. I seek to better understand all aspects of human-equine interactions with a special attention to human dynamics that impact the lived relationships of humans and equines in Native American and BIPOC communities. My research engaged with existent American Indian frameworks on Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Indigenous feminisms, and human-equine research to better understand all aspects of horse human relationships. Some of my current projects are exploring human-equine relationships in equine assisted services (therapy and learning), wild horse and mustang management on federal and tribal lands, Indigenous methodologies for human-animal relationships.
ETHN 1023 - Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Studies
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Summer 2024 / Fall 2025
Introduces critical terms, issues, and questions that inform the discipline of American Indian Studies. Examines "historical silences" and highlights how American Indian scholars, poets, and filmmakers use their work to address/redress historical subjects, and represent their Native communities.
ETHN 3213 - American Indian Women
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Spring 2025 / Spring 2026
Explores the experiences, perspectives, and status of American Indian women in historical and contemporary contexts. Examines representations of Indigenous women in mainstream culture. Emphasizes the agency of American Indian women-their persistence, creativity, and activism, especially in maintaining Indigenous traditions. Recommended prerequisite: ETHN 1023 or ETHN 2001 or WGST 2000 or WGST 2600. Same as WGST 3210.
ETHN 6001 - Research Methods in Critical Ethnic Studies
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Fall 2025
Examines various humanistic and social science research methodologies and applies critical frameworks (including feminist, queer, Indigenous and decolonial theories) to research through an intersectional lens committed to analyzing race, class, gender and sexuality as interconnected, knowledge-producing systems of power. Examines how Ethnic Studies scholars can engage with social justice projects by producing knowledge in cutting edge ways.
ETHN 6103 - Indigenous Thought and Theory: Foundations in NAIS
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2024
Introduces the theoretical landscapes of Native American and Indigenous Studies. Explores debates, methodologies and concerns that ground the field and provides critical engagement with Indigenous communities and knowledges. Teaches standards for evaluating scholarly sources based on criteria derived from the most outstanding recent scholarship in the field. Requires writing and thinking critically about issues of concern for global indigenous communities.
