About Me

Positionality

Taanshi! I'm a non-status Michif descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota. I am currently seeking dual citizenship with the Canadian government following their expansion of their criteria for citizenship by descendancy to become registered with the Manitoba Metis Federation, where my ancestors are from. In that vein, I am also seeking citizenship with the Little Shell Band of Chippewa Indians in Montana because I am not eligible for citizenship with Turtle Mountain due to their usage of blood quantum and to reconnect with others from the Pembina band. For the curious michifs, I’m a descendant of the Jerome, Vivier, Wilkie (Dumont), and Bremner families.

Although I’ve lived in Indian Country for the majority of my life and was raised by two generations of native women who also lived and worked in Indian Country for most of their lives, I consider myself a “reconnecting Indian” because I am trying to reconnect with my own families traditions and histories. Growing up, I moved frequently between Suncheon, South Korea and Rapid City, South Dakota. Having lived in Pahá Sápa for over 10 years has meant that a majority of my connections within Indian Country and learned traditions growing up are Oglala Lakota. Of course, I do not claim to be Oglala, but Oceti Sakowin history, people, and land will always feature prominently in my work, worldview, and community.

Academics

Currently, I am working on my second year of my PhD at the University of Minnesota in the Natural Resources Science and Management program and minoring in American Indian Studies. I’m advised by Dr. Michael J. Dockry (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) and in the process of building my committee. My research and thesis will explore how relationships between tribal nations in the Great Lakes and berries changed due to colonialisms impact on fire, gender, and labor using the medicine wheel as a framework to demonstrate these histories from a specifically American Indian worldview*.

As an undergraduate at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, I majored in Civil and Environmental Engineering. However, my first two years I also majored in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, which allowed my research and internship experiences to include computational organic chemistry, lab-based microbiology in addition to asset management in the renewable energy industry and environmental engineering for a Nevada copper mine.

This academic and professional experience led me to complete a dual degree program at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh for my masters in Engineering & Technology Innovation Management (Career Track: Consulting) and Civil and Environmental Engineering (Climate-resilient Environmental Systems and Technologies). My focus there was on Climate Change Science, Policy, and Innovation Management in order to gain a better understanding of the sociopolitical levers of climate change mitigation and adaptation that would be necessary in coming years.

After graduation, I worked as a Program Manager in the tech industry for two years. At Timesys, I learned a lot about what it takes to expand a company's KPI measurement capacity, track revenue, and manage engineering and sales departments. Ultimately, I also learned that I was meant to be in academia full-time and left to begin my PhD in Minnesota.

Moving forward, I hope to apply my broad experience in environmentally-focused STEM to become a professor focused on Decolonized Science and ethnoecology in Indigenous feminist contexts.

*Note: I mention the medicine wheel as an American Indian worldview, but this is not to be confused with promoting pan-Indianism. There are different versions associated with different tribes and regionalities, and they are most commonly associated with the upper plains region. My goal is to discuss these relationships from a specifically Indigenous worldview that is appropriate to the region I am studying, and I am very open to changing this as my research progresses!