Research

Interests

Critical environmental justice, social movements, Indigenous resurgence, settler-colonialism, identity, culture, emotions

Environmentalism, Indigenous-led Movements, and Solidarity

Environmentalism, as currently conceptualized, has a long history of both conflict and collaboration with Indigenous peoples and Native nations in the United States. Much of my research explores the intersections of settler-colonialism, environment, and Indigenous-led movements for land and water.

2012-2018 : Emotions and solidarity with Indigenous-led movements

This study focuses on the role of emotions in shaping solidarity participation and tactics. The research draws on participant observation and interviews with non-Indigenous identified participants in solidarity with Indigenous-led movements. Some of the products of this research can be read in Settler Colonial Studies.

2022-Ongoing : Big 10 Environmental Movement Organizations and Indigenous Peoples

This collaboration with student researchers explores the way large environmental movement organizations engage with and describe their relationships to Indigenous peoples. Materials from this study have been presented at Midwest Sociological Society.

Interactive study results

2023: Backfire: The Settler-Colonial Logic and Legacy of Smokey Bear

This collaboration with Dr. Kirsten Vinyeta considers how the Ad Council’s Smokey Bear campaign promoted colonial ideologies around fire suppression to produce the “careful citizen”—one rooted in mid-to-upper class, settler masculinity. This production hinged on interlocking narratives of Indigenous erasure, low-class criminality, and the helpless victimhood of women and more-than-human species. The results of this project are currently under review.