The quantity and quality of applications First Nations receives for the Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship is an indicator of the amazing work happening throughout Indian Country. The applicants we are able to accept into the fellowship program are a mere fraction of the number of Indigenous knowledge makers and knowledge practitioners across the country who are bringing important and valuable insights to their Native communities to improve lives and futures.
We honor these individuals who participated in the 2020 application process, both for taking the time to share their expertise with us and for their excellence and commitment as leaders in their knowledge fields.
2020 Fellowship Honorable Mentions and Knowledge Fields
- Angelo Baca, Navajo (Diné) – Indigenous Media, Anthropology, Sacred Lands Protection
- Amanda Blackhorse, Diné – Social Advocacy
- Joanie Buckley, Oneida – Business and Food Systems
- Charlotte E. Davidson, Diné/Three Affiliated Tribes – Philosophy, Student Affairs, Higher Education
- Jessi L. Falcon, Ho-Chunk Nation – Language
- Helen Fillmore, Washoe – Ecological, Geological and Women’s Ways
- Kiana Laieikawai Frank, Native Hawaiian – Na kilo ao maiki (Indigenous Microbiology)
- Malynn Foster, Squaxin Island – Skokomish – Master Artist, Food Sovereignty, Environmental Stewardship, Culture Keeper
- Jefferson Greene, Member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs: Táxshpash, Wasq’ú, Paiute, ku Niimíipuu – Ichishkín Snwit Tananmamí – Language of the Mid-Columbia River Indians
- Dr. Toni M. House, Oneida – Language Revitalization and Leadership
- Selina Jesus, Tohono O’odham Nation – Certified O’odham Teacher
- Kū Kahakalau, Ph.D, Native Hawaiian – Hawaiian Language, Culture, History and Traditions, Indigenous Education and Research
- C. Malina Kaulukukui, Native Hawaiian – Hula, Ho’oponopono, and Lua
- Jacob Manatowa-Bailey, Sac and Fox Nation – Indigenous Language Revitalization
- Traci McClellan-Sorell, Cherokee Nation – Poetry, Fiction and Nonfiction Literature for Children and Teens
- Tachini Pete, Salish/Navajo – Language Transfer Capacity Building, Salish Language Revitalization
- Heidi Aklaseaq Senungetuk, Nome Eskimo Community – Ethnomusicology
- Jessie Shepherd, Sisseton-Wahpeton – Ecology and Traditional Plant Usage
- Wendi Sierra, Oneida – Game Studies
- Noenoe K. Silva, Kanaka ‘Ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) – Native Hawaiian Intellectual History, Native Hawaiian Political History, ‘Ōlelo Hawai’i (Hawaiian Language)
- Sam Slater, Navajo – Navajo Moccasin Making and Cultural Arts Pedagogy
- Endawnis Spears, Diné/Ojibwe/Chickasaw/Choctaw – Equity and Decolonization in Educational Spaces including Museums and Schools
- Leona Swamp, Akwesasne Mohawk Nation – Grief and Intergenerational Trauma
- Daniel R. Wildcat, Yuchi Member of Muscogee Nation – Philosophy, Environmental Science and Ethics
