Research Interests:
Chickasaw:
Chickasaw
is a Western Muskogean
language most closely related to Choctaw, and distantly related to
Muskogee/Creek, Alabama, Seminole, and Mikasuki amoung others.
Originally spoken in Southeastern US, mainly Tennessee, Alabama, and
Georgia, Chickasaw is now spoken predominately in South Central
Oklahoma. Less than 200 speakers of Chickasaw currently remain, but we
have begun a Master/Apprentice program in conjunction with some
headstart immersion programs in an effort to increase that number.
Two-Spirits:
Historically, over 200 indigenous
tribes in North America (and probably much more) had a 3rd, and
sometimes 4th, gender status. While some communities have maintained
recognition of these statuses (and the important roles they play in
their given societies) others are rediscovering this role. Contemporary
Two-Spirit groups are often pan-tribal (consisting of individuals from
several different nations), and can be found throughout the US. My
research seeks to explore how Two-Spirit individuals and communities
define themselves within and outside of their Native identities and
dominant ideologies of both ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.
Homa Lusa:
Pre and
Post- removal to
Oklahoma, all five of the "Five Civilized Tribes" (Chickasaw, Choctaw,
Cherokee, Muskogee/Creek, and Seminole) practiced some form of slavery.
As a result, throughout the Southeast and general South, a long history
of interaction, intermarriage, and cultural exchange has occuring
between African Americans and Indigenous peoples in this region. Yet,
history has largely ignored this immense interaction, and its the
resulting effects on both communities. I'm intersted in how the
descendents of these two marginalized groups, such as the Homa Lusa,
Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, etc. articulate their multiple
minority statuses in a society which often assumes ethnicity to be
monolithic; as well as how these communities and individuals
necessarily change our understandings of larger Native American and
African American identities.