Jennifer Nez Denetdale
Jennifer Nez Denetdale | |
|---|---|
| Born | United States |
| Occupation | Professor of American studies, University of New Mexico |
| Language | English, Navajo |
| Citizenship | Navajo Nation and U.S. |
| Alma mater | Northern Arizona University |
| Relatives | Great-great-great grandparents, Manuelito and Juanita [1] |
| Website | |
| americanstudies | |
Jennifer Nez Denetdale is a professor of American studies at the University of New Mexico, where she teaches courses in Native American studies with an emphasis on race, class, and gender.[2] She is the director of the University of New Mexico's Institute for American Research.[3] She also specializes in Navajo history and culture and the effects of colonization and decolonization as it has impacted the Navajo people.[4] She is the chair of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission.[3] Denetdale is also an advocate for students who wish to pursue an education in Indigenous studies, Navajo women, and the LGBTQ+ community.[3]
Early life
Denetdale's parents had both attended Stewart Indian School, a boarding school in Carson City, Nevada.[2] Denetdale was raised in Tohatchi, New Mexico from childhood with her three sisters and one brother.[2] She is a citizen of the Navajo Nation, and she is the Zia (or Weaver) clan and born for the Salt People Clan. Her maternal grandfathers are of the Red House clan and her paternal grandfathers are of the Water-Running-Together Clan.[5]
Mentors
Denetdale cites her former professor Luci Tapahonso (Diné) and Louis Owens as her early mentors in her pursuit of higher education.[2]
Education
Denetdale earned her M.A. in English and Ph.D. in history from Northern Arizona University (NAU).[6][7] Denetdale is the first person of Diné / Navajo descent to earn a Ph.D. in History.[3]
Books, essays, exhibits, and lectures
- Indigenous Leadership and Gender in the 21st Century
- The Long Walk: The Forced Navajo Exile
- Nation to Nation: 09 Bad Acts / Bad Paper - Jennifer Nez Denetdale
- Reclaiming Navajo History
- Reclaiming Diné History The Legacies of Navajo Chief Manuelito and Juanita
- Nothing Left for Me: Federal Policy and the Photography of Milton Snow in Diné Bikéyah
Awards and recognition
- Rainbow Naatsilid True Colors award
- UNM Faculty of Color Award
- UNM Sarah Brown Belle award (2013)
- Excellence in Diné Studies (2015)
- UNM Presidential Award of Distinction (2017)
In 2015 Denetdale was chosen to deliver an inaugural address for the 23rd Navajo Nation Council.[3]
References
- ^ Cook, Roy. "Reclaiming the Pride of the Dine' Culture". Navajo Times. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gonzales, Carolyn (October 11, 2011). "Denetdale Works to Reclaim Navajo History". Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Jennifer Nez Denetdale". American Studies. The University of New Mexico. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ Norrgard, Chantal Marie (2008). Seasons of Change: Treaty Rights, Labor, and the Historical Memory of Work Among Lake Superior Ojibwe, 1870--1942. pp. 34–. ISBN 978-0-549-81007-0.
- ^ Nation to Nation: 09 Bad Acts / Bad Paper - Jennifer Nez Denetdale. September 23, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Jennifer Nez Denetdale". Archived from the original on June 28, 2010.
- ^ "American Studies at UNM".