about me
I am a mixed-race, Indigenous (Blackfeet, Red River Métis) and white writer and researcher dedicated to community-driven research to advance Indigenous health equity.
Currently, I am a public health PhD student at the University of Minnesota, a Qualitative Analysis Assistant for the Enhanced Perinatal Programs for People in Prison research project, and a Graduate Research Assistant at the Center for Indigenous Health’s Great Lakes Hub.
I have also worked as a freelance writer since 2017, publishing articles in Bitch, Yes! Magazine, Talk Poverty, Health Affairs Blog, and other national media. My writing is featured in the 2022 book Aftermath: Life In Post-Roe America from She Writes Press and the forthcoming book Artists Remaking Medicine from Procedure Press.
I have received numerous national and local awards for my work, including the National Indian Health Board’s Local Impact Award. I have also been interviewed by the Star Tribune, Teen Vogue, the Associated Press, St. Louis Public Radio, and several podcasts.
I’m an enrolled citizen of the Little Shell Chippewa tribe and a descendant of the Blackfeet tribe. I was raised in Salish country in Montana and currently live in Dakota and Ojibwe country in Minneapolis.
education
PhD Student
Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
MPH
George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St Louis
BA, American Studies
Macalester College, St Paul MN
research
Center for Indigenous Health - Great Lakes Hub
Enhanced Perinatal Programs for People in Prison
I currently serve as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Center for Indigenous Health, assisting with Healing Pathways, a longitudinal, community-based participatory research project on American Indian and First Nation youth health. June 2023 to present.
I currently serve as a Qualitative Data Analyst for the Enhanced Perinatal Programs for People in Prison, assisting with a supplement examining the impacts of COVID-19 on health services and social support for pregnant and postpartum people in prison. March 2023 to present.
Social Policy Institute
As a Research Manager at the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St Louis, I led project management for six research projects focused on improving access to and quality of care for people receiving Medicaid and Marketplace insurance. 2020 to 2022.
Urban Indian Health Institute
As part of my master’s in public health, I completed a practicum at the Urban Indian Health Institute. My work there focused on culturally and scientifically rigorous program evaluation and building public health infrastructure in urban Indian communities. Summer 2019.
Blackfeet Food Sovereignty
With a grant from the First Nations Development Institute, I conducted oral-history research with elders on Blackfeet traditional foods and food systems - the first research of its kind. 2016 to 2017.
Accolades
Coverage in national media, including a feature in Yes! Magazine
Featured on the Native Nations Institute Indigenous Governance Database
Featured on the National Park Service Traditional Ecological Knowledge webpage
Awarded the National Indian Health Board's 2017 Local Impact Award
Presented at the 2017 National Native Health Research Training Conference and the 2017 National Food Sovereignty Conference
Used by an undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of Montana, Montana State University, and Western Washington University
Reentry Housing in Illinois
A joint project of the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Illinois Justice Project, I assisted with research for the publication “Reentry Housing Issues in Illinois: The Current Situation, Challenges, and Possible Solutions.” 2017 to 2018.
community
STL Reentry Collective
In July 2020, I co-founded the STL Reentry Collective, which manages a mutual aid fund and reentry resource guide for justice-involved people in St. Louis community. At the height of the COIVD-19 pandemic, the mutual aid fund redistributed over $70,000 to formerly incarcerated community members.
Media
Panelist: “Building Power and Solidarity During Loss,” Navigating Our New Political Reality series by Montana Voices, February 9, 2021
The Narrative Podcast, Season 2, Episode 2: Mutual Aid interview with co-founder me and Jameel Spann of the Nashville Community Bail Fund, December 28, 2020
Coronavirus Pandemic Complicates How People Adjust To Life After Prison by Kayla Drake, St. Louis Public Radio, November 9, 2020
COVID-19 in Prison Joint Statement, signed by American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, Bail Project – St. Louis, From Prison Cells to PhD, Saint Louis University Prison Education Program, STL Reentry Fund, LouHealth, and Missouri CURE, August 17, 2020
Prison Education Project
I worked for the Washington University in St Louis Prison Education Project from 2018 to 2020. In this role, I independently designed and implemented program evaluation; co-led writing and dissemination of regional reentry resource guide; and tutored undergraduate students at Missouri Eastern Correctional Center on a weekly basis.
POC Online Classroom
I founded POC Online Classroom a social justice resource website, in November 2015. I independently manage the website and social media content. Through POC Online Classroom, I have published two zines, created four unique syllabi, and curate hundreds of resources on 8 topic-specific content pages. The website reached 57,000 people in 2022 and has over 14,000 followers on social media.
Accolades
Featured in numerous college course syllabi, including “Mental Health and Wellbeing for Activism” at Iowa State University
Highlighted in my recognition as Macalester College 2020 Young Alumni Award winner
Featured in 2018 Teen Vogue article “7 Ways to Be An Ally to Native Peoples This Thanksgiving”
Featured in the "Communal Curriculum" section of the 2017 Youth Report by Protein, a global branding and communications consulting firm