Call for Submissions
We invite all Alumni of the Native American Studies Graduate Program to submit the following: Name, Degree(s), Current Educational Institution and/or Employment, Professional Titles, and Tribal Affiliation. Email your information to Victoria Torres, vgtorres@ucdavis.edu.
Partial Listing of Graduate Students Alumni
* Degrees awarded in Native American Studies Graduate Program, University of California, Davis.
Melinda Adams
Ph.D., 2023* - Dissertation: S"torytelling through Fire: The Socio-Ecological and Cultural Reclamation of Indigenous Cultural Fire in Northern California"
M.A., 2021* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies and Geography & Atmospheric Science at the University of Kansas
Cinthya Ammerman
Ph.D., 2021* - Dissertation: "Restoring Hemispheric Relationality: Connecting Mapuche and California Native Homelands Through the Stories of Wheat and Pine"
M.S., 2015 - Community Development, University of California, Davis.
Thesis: "Warriors for Tenderness: Self-determination, Development and Conflicting Worldviews in Mapuche Territory"
Current Position: Associate Professor of Native American Studies at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt
Maria Aparicio
M.A., 2004* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
J.D., 2008 - School of Law, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
Current Position: Attorney at Law, Maria Jones Law Firm, Phoenix, AZ.
Ashlee Bird
Ph.D., 2021* - Dissertation: "Representation and Reclamation: The History and Future of Natives in Gaming"
M.A., 2017* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Jerold Blain
M.A., 2010* - Thesis: "(Post)development and food sovereignty for California Indian nation building."
Current Position: Workplace Operations Manager, Rally Health, San Francisco, CA.
Nicole Blalock
M.A., 2013* - Thesis: "The Importance of Indigenous Identity: Scholar Reflections on the Impacts of Being Federally (Un)Recognized on Academic Careers."
Ph.D., 2013 – Education, University of California, Davis.
Dissertation: “Culturally Sustaining Pedagoies: Understanding School Practices and the Academic Achievement of American Indians and Alaskan Native Students through a Multidisciplinary Lens.”
Current Position: Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies Program, California State University, Northridge.
Benjamin Burgess
Ph.D., 2009* - Dissertation: "Clan Destined Communities: The Persistence and Revitalization of Ojibwe Clan Identity in Ojibwe Literature."
M.A., 2001* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Anthony Burris
Ph.D., 2022* - Dissertation: "Indians Are Doing it for Themselves: Ancestor Repatriation in the Greater Sacramento Region."
M.A., 2017* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Ethnic Studies, California State University, Sacramento.
Catherine Cardozo
Ph.D., 2005* - Dissertation: "The California Indian Basketweavers Association: A Native Agency for Change and Cultural Continuity."
M.A., 2001* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Current Position: Air Pollution Specialist, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento, CA.
Kristina Casper-Denman
Ph.D., 2013* - Dissertation: “California Indian Education Association (CIEA) working towards educational sovereignty.”
M.A., 1995 - Arizona State University, AZ.
Thesis: “Hand and Grasp Preference in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) and Crab-eating Macaques (Macaca fascicularis).”
Current Position: Professor, Anthropology, American River College, Sacramento, CA.
Brook Colley
Ph.D., 2014* - Dissertation: “Reframing Tribal Relations: At the Place Where the Cascades Fall.”
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Native American Studies, Southern Oregon University, OR.
Cibonay Cordova
M.A., 2003* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Current Position: Residential and Crisis Services Manager, WEAVE, Inc., Sacramento, CA.
Daniel "Ahuicapahtzun" Cornejo-Warner
Ph.D., 2022* - Dissertation: "Confronting Erasure: Educational Challenges and Interventions that Empower Intertribal Youth in the Bay Area"
Susan Daniels
M.A., 2007* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Current Position: Ph.D. Student in Mesoamerican Studies, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
Sara Dutschke
M.A., 2002* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
J.D., 2006 - McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, CA.
Current Position: Attorney at Law, Dentons' Public Law, San Francisco, CA.
Korah (Karah) English
M.A., 2009* - Thesis: “Reinventing the Gaze: Judith Lowry’s Artistic Expressions Contexualized."
Current Position: Cultural Arts Program Specialist, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.
Vanessa Esquivido-Meza
Ph.D., 2019* - Dissertation: "Fighting for Federal Recognition: A Nor Rel Muk Wintu Ethnohistory."
Current Position: Education Director, Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, CA.
Dina Fachin
Ph.D., 2008* - Dissertation: "Poems From the Mirror: The Re-imagination of Indigenous Identities through Literary and Visual Narratives in Oaxaca."
Current Position: Adjunct Professor, Spanish and Italian Studies, St. Louis University, MO.
Abel Garcia-Ruiz
M.A., 2011* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Todd Gettleman
M.A., 2008* - Thesis: "iPatwin: Using Technology for Cultural Renewal and Language Revitalization on the Rumsey Indian Rancheria."
Kerin Gould
Ph.D., 2007* - Dissertation: "Connecting Indigenous Worldview, Well-being, and Community Projects."
M.A., 2003* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Current Position: Independent Scholar and Consultant.
Michael Grofe
Ph.D., 2007* - Dissertation: "The Serpent Series: Precession in the Maya Dresden Codex."
M.A., 1997 - Cultural Anthropology/Ecology, California Institute of Integral Studies.
Thesis: "Questioning Chocolate: A Mythological and Ecological Perspective."
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Sacramento City College, CA.
Jessa Rae Growing Thunder
Ph.D., 2022* - Dissertation: "Tatanka Nunpa Win: Dakota/Nakoda Women's Oral Testimony and Beaded Histories"
M.A., 2016* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Jane Haladay
Ph.D., 2004* - Dissertation: "'Everything according to the first guidance of the spirits: Female Community in Three Salish Novels."
M.A., 2000 - American Indian Studies, University of Arizona, AZ.
Thesis: "Solemn Laughter: Humor as Subversion and Resistance in the Literature of Simon Ortiz and Carter Revard."
Current Position: Associate Professor, American Indians Studies, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, NC.
Ashley Hall
Ph.D., 2009* - Dissertation: "The Towaoc Bear Dance and Nuche National Identity."
Current Position: Adjunct Professor, Native American Studies, Sonoma State University, CA.
Julianne Hazelwood
M.A., 2006* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Ph.D., 2010 - Geography, University of Kentucky, KY.
Dissertation: “Geographies of Co2Lonialism and Hope In The Northwest Pacific Frontier Territory-Region Of Ecuador.”
Current Position: Director of Te Ha: Alliance for Indigenous Solidarity. The Cultural Conservancy, San Francisco, CA.
Angel Hinzo
Ph.D., 2016* - “Voicing Across Space: Subverting Colonial Structures in Ho-Chunk/Winnebago Tribal History.”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow in Interdisciplinary Indigenous Studies, Interdisciplinary Research Institute for the Study of (In)Equality (IRISE), University of Denver.
Frances Kay Holmes
M.A., 2006* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Ph.D., 2013 - Education, University of California, Davis.
Dissertation: “Native American Perspectives on Educational Experiences from within the Not So Ivory Tower.”
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Native American and Indigenous Studies, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO.
Elliott Housman-Turrubiate
M.A., 2017* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
SimHayKin Jack
Ph.D., 2023* - Dissertation: "Toward kəłłəx̌íls [dancing with strength]: Language and Cultural Resurgence on the Colville Indian Reservation"
M.A., 2016* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Monique Ramune Jonaitis
Ph.D., 2009* - Dissertation: "The Fifth Direction: Performing the "land of uncertainty" in Native American Literature and Performance."
M.A., 2002 - Latin American Studies, University of New Mexico, NM.
Current Position: Independent Scholar and Lecturer.
Patricia Killelea
Ph.D., 2015* - Dissertation: "Between These Songs: Contemporary Experimental Native American Poetry & Poetics."
M.A., 2008 - English, University of California, Davis.
Thesis: "Counterglow: Poems."
Current Position: Assistant Professor, English, Northern Michigan University, MI.
Bayu Kristianto
Ph.D., 2016* - Dissertation: “Notions of the Body as Decolonization Strategies in the Novels of Leslie Marmon Silko and Louise Erdrich."
M.A., 2006 – American Studies, State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, 2006.
Thesis: "Man and the World in Heidegger, Emerson, and Native American Philosophy."
Current Position: University Lecturer/Instructor, Universitas Indonesia.
Jason Lacy
M.A., 2004* - Thesis: "A Western Hemispheric Analysis: Pan Indigenous Movements for Human Rights, Sovereignty, Self-determination, and Self Government."
Deserea Langley
Ph.D., 2021* - Dissertation: "From Land Allotment to Land Reclamation: Susanville Indian Rancheria Preserving Land for the Future"
M.A., 2016* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis)
Melissa V. Leal
Ph.D., 2012* - Dissertation: "Chempa, Showinpa, Mefpa, Asumpa, Achepa (To Paint, To Scratch, To Dance, To Flow, To Unite): The Native American Experience in the Hip Hop World."
Current Position: Executive Director of Education, Wilton Rancheria, CA.
Mark LeBeau
Ph.D., 2012* - Dissertation: "An Examination of Culturally Competent Health Care for American Indians in California."
M.S., 2008 - Community Development, University of California, Davis.
Thesis: "Culturally Appropriate Tobacco Cessation Services for Native Trying to Quit."
Current Position: Executive Director, California Rural Indian Health Board, Sacramento, CA.
Stephanie Lumsden
M.A., 2014* - Thesis: "Native American and the Prison-Industrial Complex in California."
Current Position: Ph.D. Student, Gender Studies, UCLA.
Jennie Luna
Ph.D., 2012* - Dissertation: "Danza Mexica: Indigenous Identity, Spirituality, Activism, and Performance."
M.A., 2006* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Ed.M., 2001 - Philosophy of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY.
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Chicana/o Studies, California State University, Channel Islands, CA.
Spencer Mann
Ph.D., 2022* - Dissertation: "Bureaucracy as Kinship: Native Nations and the Allotmentality of U.S. Settler Colonial Marriage Law"
M.A., 2016* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Molly McGlennen
Ph.D., 2005* - Dissertation: "It is Evidence of Faith to Create: Spirituality and Contemporary Native American Women's Poetics."
M.F.A., 1998 - Mills College, Oakland, CA.
Current Position: Associate Professor, English Department, Vassar College, NY.
Rodolfo Meyer
Ph.D., 2008* - Dissertation: "Performance and Identity in Popular Culture's Re/presentations of Tinku Ritual by Andean People."
(Deceased 2016)
Kirsten Meyer
M.A., 2004* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Current Position: Founder and Director of KM Digital Marketing.
Anneke Mundel
M.A., 2001* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Rachel Nez
Ph.D., 2020* - Dissertation: "Performative Models for Heritage Language Learning: Theater, Song and Tribal Radio"
Kumiko Noguchi
Ph.D., 2009* - Dissertation: "From Yokuts to Tule River Indians: Re-creation of the Tribal Identity on the Tule River Indian Reservation in California from Euroamerican Contact to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934."
M.A., 2003 - History, Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan.
Thesis: "Indians and the Indian Reorganization Bill: The Analysis of the Indian Congress."
Current Position: Assistant Professor, International Institute of American Studies at Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan.
Brittani Orona
Ph.D., 2022* - Dissertation: "This is our home, this is our land: Visualizing Decolonization on the Klamath River Basin."
M.A., 2018* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Marcus Peters
M.A., 2003* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Kaitlin Reed
Ph.D., 2019* - Dissertation: " The Environmental & Cultural Impacts of Cannabis Cultivation on Yurok Tribal Lands"
M.A., 2016* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis)
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Native American Studies, Humboldt State University, CA.
Barbara Rigby
M.A., 2002* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Cutcha Risling Baldy
Ph.D., 2015* - Dissertation: "no:'olchwin-ding, no:'olchwin-te (To Grow Old In A Good Way): The Revitalization of the Hupa Women’s Coming Of Age Ceremony."
M.F.A., 2005 - Writing & Literature, San Diego State University, CA.
Thesis: "Stories They Tell Me: A Collection of Short Stories."
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Native American Studies, Humboldt State University, CA.
Annie Ross
Ph.D., 2002* - Dissertation: "One Mother Earth, one doctor water: A Story about Environmental Justice in the Age of Nuclearism. A Native American View."
Current Position: Associate Professor, First Nations Studies, Simon Fraser University.
James Sarmento
Ph.D., 2021* - Dissertation: "The Shasta Language: A One-Hundred Year Conversation"
Bettina Schneider
Ph. D., 2009* - Dissertation: "Reclaiming Economic Sovereignty: Native and Aboriginal Financial Institutions."
M.S., 2004 - Community Development, University of California, Davis.
Thesis: "Reclaiming economic sovereignty: native community development financial Institutions as a means of culturally appropriate community and economic development."
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Indigenous Science, The Environment & Economic Development, First Nations University of Canada.
Alicia Siu
M.A., 2011* - Thesis: "The Coloniality of Violence in the 1932 Massacre of the Pipil and Art for Healing."
Current Position: Artist and Muralist (www.aliciasiu.com).
Silvia Soto
Ph.D., 2015* - Dissertation: "Unstoppable Clamor: The Re-Construction of a Mayan World in Chiapas."
M.A., 2005 - Latin American Studies, University of New Mexico, NM.
Current Position: Visiting Assistant Professor, American Indian Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL.
Haliehana Stepetin
Ph.D., 2023* - Dissertation: "Unangam Qaqamiig?uu [Unangax? Subsistence] Cosmologies: Protocols of Sustainability, or Ways of Being Unangax?"
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Arctic Security Studies, School of Arctic and Climate Security Studies, Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies.
Janferie Stone
Ph.D., 2007* - Dissertation: "A Guatemalan Tale of Two Wives: Nawales (shapeshifters) In a Time of Genocide."
M.A., 2000 - Folklore Studies/Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley.
Current Position: Author and Editing Professional.
Susan Stowell
Ph.D., 2008* - Dissertation: "The Wäda-Tika of the Former Malheur Indian Reservation."
Current Position: Independent Scholar.
Kathryn Sweet
M.A., 2008* - Thesis: "Diné bikéyah, Arizona, and Public Law 83-280."
Ph.D., 2014 – School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies, Arizona State University, AZ. Dissertation – “The Unwelcomed Traveler: England’s Black Death and Hopi’s Smallpox.”
Current Position: Adjunct Faculty, College of Humanities & Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ.
Sheri Tatsch
Ph.D., 2006* - Dissertation: "The Nisenan: Dialects and Districts of a Speech Community."
M.A., 2001* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Current Position: Founder and Director of Indigenous Consulting Services, Orangevale, CA.
Cecilia Tolley
M.A., 2010* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Jesus Valle
M.A., 2003* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Current Position: Professor, English Department, American River College, Sacramento, CA.
Fernando Villalba
M.A., 2010* - Thesis: "Protecting Traditional Resources Rights in Conservation Native Knowledge in National Parks."
Current Position: Biologist and Natural Resource Manager, National Park Service, CA.
Christine Willie Ami
Ph.D., 2016* - Dissertation: "Díí jí nída’iil’ah (Today, we butcher): A Study of Navajo Traditional Sheep Butchering."
M.A., Latin American Literature, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Current Position: Social and Behavioral Science Faculty Member (Cultural Anthropology/Native American Studies Instructor), Diné College. Grant Manager for the Navajo Cultural Arts Program (3 year/$750,000 grant).
Lisa Woodward
Ph.D., 2007* - Dissertation: "The Acjachemen of San Juan Capistrano: The History, Language and Politics of an Indigenous California Community."
M.A., 2002* - Comprehensive Exam (Non-Thesis).
Current Position: Archivist, Cultural Resource Center, Pechanga Tribal Nation.
Douglas Worley
Ph.D., 2017* - Dissertation: “The Intergenerational Leadership of the Patwin People.”
Current Position: Independent Consultant to Tribal Nations.