Stories are what make us, and we all have stories to share. I was first in my family to go to college, and first to drop out because I wasn't sure of what to do or how to navigate college. Nineteen years later when my children were older, I went back--first to Massasoit Community College, then to UMass Boston where I earned my BA and MA. Following that I earned a Ph.D. at the University of New Hampshire. My degree is in Composition and Rhetoric with a specialty in Indigenous and Cultural Rhetorics.
One of my passions is art--in the multiple forms that art can taken and how working with materials contributes to inspiring multiple ideas. In addition to drawing and painting, I am a photographer. Further, I do beadwork, wampum, fingerweaving, sewing, and design--almost anything. Taking raw materials and creating something is beautiful. Art helps keep me balanced.
I am blessed to have two children and four grandchild who ground me.
I absolutely love what I do. Working with students brings me great joy, and it is an honor to be part of a student's journey. I also love the work I do as the Native American and Indigenous Studies Coordinator. In 2015, I was awarded the Presidential Fellowship to work on strengthening Indigenous partnerships in our region and with Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. In November of 2015, my co-edited collection Survivance, Sovereignty, and Story: Teaching American Indian Rhetorics was published by Utah State University Press. My co-editors, Dr. Lisa King and Dr. Rose Gubele, and I were awarded an honorable mention for the CCCC Book Award in 2017. Recently, my chapter, "Walking with Relatives: Indigenous Bodies of Protest" was published in Unruly Rhetorics from Pittsburgh Press. My current projects include research on Walter Battice (Sauk and Fox) who attended Bridgewater in 1887. I also was co-organizer and host for the Indigenous History Conference for 2020.
One of my passions is art--in the multiple forms that art can taken and how working with materials contributes to inspiring multiple ideas. In addition to drawing and painting, I am a photographer. Further, I do beadwork, wampum, fingerweaving, sewing, and design--almost anything. Taking raw materials and creating something is beautiful. Art helps keep me balanced.
I am blessed to have two children and four grandchild who ground me.
I absolutely love what I do. Working with students brings me great joy, and it is an honor to be part of a student's journey. I also love the work I do as the Native American and Indigenous Studies Coordinator. In 2015, I was awarded the Presidential Fellowship to work on strengthening Indigenous partnerships in our region and with Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. In November of 2015, my co-edited collection Survivance, Sovereignty, and Story: Teaching American Indian Rhetorics was published by Utah State University Press. My co-editors, Dr. Lisa King and Dr. Rose Gubele, and I were awarded an honorable mention for the CCCC Book Award in 2017. Recently, my chapter, "Walking with Relatives: Indigenous Bodies of Protest" was published in Unruly Rhetorics from Pittsburgh Press. My current projects include research on Walter Battice (Sauk and Fox) who attended Bridgewater in 1887. I also was co-organizer and host for the Indigenous History Conference for 2020.
