Indigeneity in Academia

Co-hosts Manaeha and Matt share their interview with Leila K Blackbird and Leah Horowitz in this episode. Leila K. Blackbird is a PhD candidate in US History and the Pozen Family Human Rights Doctoral Fellowship Coordinator. Her research focuses on (post/de) colonialism, slavery, state violence, and the environment. Leah Horowitz is at the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, using ethnographic methods to examine grassroots engagements with environmental issues, especially with regard to Indigenous communities’ negotiations with and resistance to environmentally risky industrial expansion.

Both Leila and Leah share their personal experiences of being Indigenous and working on Indigeneity, respectively, especially in Academia. It can be hard, even counterintuitive, to discuss indigeneity from the context of a colonial institution. How can we strive to be anti-colonial at UChicago and other institutions? Leila and Leah offer their wisdom and share specifics about their respective works that explore this question.