Kaja Anderson

Kaja Anderson

Graduate Teaching Assistant Spring 2024

From: Fort Peck, MT; Sioux and Assiniboine Nations

Research interests: Native American military service in WWI

Tanner Barney

Tanner Barney

Graduate Teaching Assistant Spring 2024
From: I was born in Louisiana but, due to being a child of the Air Force, I've lived in many places between Turkey and here in Montana. However, I'd say my true home lies in my Karuk homelands, along the upper half of the Klamath River.
 
Education: Bachelor's in Earth Sciences at MSU
 
Research Interests: Much of my work is centered around ararahih (the people's language/the Karuk language), specifically methods of revitalization and how it can be a primary conduit of someone's identity. I'm also heavily invested in my Nation's interests and government. 
Dan Carlson-Strom

Daniel Carlson-Strom

 

From: Boston, MA, but born in NY. My mother and aunt are from Butte, so that's my connection to Montana.

Education: I spent a few years in Dillon MT at UMW for my undergrad. I graduated with a degree in history from University of Massachusetts Boston in 2020. I came here to MSU to join the NAS Masters program in 2021.

Research Interests: landback movement, and tribal affiliation.

Wesley Cawood

Wes Cawood

 

From: Lancaster, PA

Education: B.S. in Conservation Biology

Research Interest: Decolonizing food systems, food sovereignty, companion ways of knowing

Vance Crooked Arm

Douglas Vance Crooked Arm

 
From: I am from the Crow Indian Reservation and live in Pryor, MT
 
Tribal Affiliation: Apsáalooke
 
Education: I Graduated from Little Big Horn College with an Associate of Arts in 1999; University of Montana-Western with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. I'm currently a college instructor at the Little Big Horn College, mainly teaching the Crow Language, Music, and Dance of the Crow Indians.
 
Research Interests: My area of interest is Apsáalooke Language Revitalization and Indigenous Revitalization.
Dawn Delaney-Aimsback

Dawn Delaney-Aimsback

 

From: I am an enrolled member and from the Amskapi Pikuni Nation. 

Education: Bachelor of Art - Environmental Studies

Research Interests: Native American Policy and current Native American topics that are of concern of one's culture; the representation of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, the representation of Contemporary Native American issues, and Climate Change adaptation.

Videography and GIS will allow me to highlight language and its relationship to the land, through an interactive educational story map, which I plan to give to the local Tribal College Library. Showcasing the rich and long history within the given landscape, will help guide and educate the next generation and pass on Indigenous ways of knowing, within the Amskapi Pikuni community.

Laura Fairbanks

Laura Fairbanks

 

From: Obaashiing! Ponemah, Minnesota

Origin: Dakota/Ojibwe, descendant of The Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana, and enrolled member of the Red Lake Nation

Education: Indigenous Studies degree, double minor international relations, political science

Interests: Language revitalization, Boys and Girls Clubs and student organizations, building international relationships with other Indigenous and Tribal Nations, Native American history. 

Lacey Gonzales

Lacey Gonzales

 
From: I am a native Montanan and currently reside in Billings.  I work for Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council managing the Tribal Opioid Response grant.
 
Research Interests:
I am interested in the changing Native American sense of identity and belonging and how it relates to mental health and wellbeing.
Amy Kimball

Amy Kimball

 

From: I was born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and spent most of my adult life in Kansas before moving to south Texas 12 years ago.

 

Research Interests: My area of interest is Indigenous voice and land acknowledgment in the National Park System, with a shift from recognition to acknowledgment through re-naming and Tribal consultation in all areas at NPS service sites on ancestral lands.

Rebecca Warner

Rebecca Warner

Graduate Teaching Assistant Spring 2024

From: Boulder, MT

Research Interests: Preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages; and combining conventional medical knowledge with plant knowledge for community wellness and food sovereignty.

Caleb Williams

Caleb Williams

 
From: Billings, MT
 
Tribal Affiliation: Enrolled Sokaogon Chippewa from Mole Lake, WI. Descendent of Assiniboine-Sioux in Fort Peck, MT and Chippewa-Cree in Rocky Boy, MT.
 
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Amherst College, MA.
 
Research Interests: My interests are food availability, food accessibility, and general indigenous food sovereignty initiatives. 
Levi Yellowmule

Levi Yellowmule

 
From: Crow Agency, the Mighty Few District

Tribal Affiliation: Crow Nation
 
Education: Instructor at Little Big Horn College
 
Research Interest: Crow language, Crow history, and Crow oral history
Lyndsey Young

Lyndsey Young

Graduate Teaching Assistant Spring 2024

From: Poplar, MT

Research interest: blood quantum and identity