Broadly, I am interested in the ways contemporary Native peoples, particularly young adults, are navigating spaces and negotiating what it means to be modern Indigenous people in an age of digital and social media, and the ways these technological advances are allowing for Native peoples to expand ideas of Nation Building, identity, community, and activism. These broad interests have developed into two distinct, but overlapping, areas of work: College access and transition for Native students, and examining representations of Native peoples in pop culture through online communities. These two strands of my research agenda examine the ongoing impacts of colonialism and the erasure of Native peoples from the American narrative, as well as the power of education for Native peoples to push back on stereotypes and work to (re)define what it means to be a contemporary Native person. In addition, both areas engage tribal sovereignty—how can higher education contribute to nation (re) building? And how are Native peoples engaged in (re)claiming cultural and intellectual property?

My current book project is entitled “College Pride, Native Pride”: Indigenous Students in Higher Education, and my research follows a group of four Native (American Indian and Native Hawaiian) students as they transition to college and through their freshman year. These students are alumni of a pre-college access program for Native students called College Horizons (CH), which offers both college preparation and Native identity development, and strives to create an environment where the motto of CH—“College Pride, Native Pride”—is embraced and embodied. I examine the research questions: How do CH alumni conceptualize their experiences in the transition to and through the first year of college? How do they balance and navigate their “college pride” and “Native pride”? And what are the issues they face, if any, in creating a space where both can exist simultaneously? 

• National Academy of Education (NAEd) Spencer Dissertation Fellowship (2013)
• Women’s Media Center Social Media Award (nominee) (2013)
• Kolajo Paul Afolabi Award for Educational Justice (Harvard Graduate School of Education Alumni of Color Conference) (2013)
• Christopher B. Duro Graduate Fellowship (2011)
• Harvard University Presidential Scholarship (2009-2014)
• Harvard University Native American Program Nation Building Fellowship (2011, 2012)

• American Studies Association
• Native American Indigneous Studies Association
• American Educational Research Association
• Eastern Sociological Society
• National Indian Education Association