Bio
I am a cultural anthropologist and study contemporary Indigenous (American Indian) cultural production as well as the history of anthropological work with Indigenous peoples. My research has appeared in journals including Current Anthropology, American Anthropologist, American Ethnologist, Comparative Studies in Society and History, and Ethnohistory, and has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society.
My current book project focuses on the “Indian News,” a collection of over 1,400 columns written by four Ho-Chunk authors for Wisconsin newspapers (1915-1954). This project analyzes how these writers documented Indigenous perspectives during the Great Depression and World War II while creating a distinctive journalistic genre.
My first book, Ho-Chunk Powwows and the Politics of Tradition (Nebraska 2016), examines the powwow as a widespread celebration of Indigenous music and dance. It chronicles how Ho-Chunk people in Wisconsin developed their powwow tradition across three centuries, navigating tensions between the economic value of cultural performances in regional tourism and the social/cultural significance of these gatherings as expressions of collective identity and community bonds.
I am also researching anthropological contributions to Indigenous nation-rebuilding projects through archival research focused on the “action anthropology” approach of Nancy Oestreich Lurie (1924-2017) in her work with Ho-Chunk and Menominee communities. In 2023, I edited a special issue of the Journal of Anthropological Research examining how anthropologists like Lurie engaged decolonization struggles. A future book project will explore mid-20th century collaborations between anthropologists and Indigenous activists and how these partnerships influenced anthropological theory and practice.
Courses Taught (Past & Present)
Survey of Historical and Theoretical Approaches in Anthropology
Peoples and Cultures of Native North America
Introduction to American Indian Studies
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Globalization and the Human Condition
Research Areas
Cultural Anthropology, Native North America, History of Anthropology
Selected Publications & Awards
- National Endowment for the Humanities Faculty Fellowship 2018-2019 ““Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) “Indian News” in Depression-Era Wisconsin.”
- 2023. “Decolonization and the History of Americanist Anthropology.” Special issue, The Journal of Anthropological Research. volume 79, number 4, December 2023.
- 2023. Joining the Ongoing Struggle: Vine Deloria, Nancy Lurie, and the Quest for a Decolonial Anthropology.” Journal of Anthropological Research. volume 79, number 4, December 2023.
- 2022. “The Indian’s White Man: Indigenous Knowledge, Mutual Understanding, and the Politics of Indigenous Reason.” Current Anthropology. Vol. 63, No. 1.
- 2016. “Settler agnosia in the field: Indigenous action, functional ignorance, and the origins of ethnographic entrapment.” American Ethnologist. Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 465–474.
- 2016. Ho-Chunk Powwows and the Politics of Tradition. Lincoln, NE: The University of Nebraska Press.