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Chase Bryer (Chickasaw Nation)
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Program Coordinator, NAISI
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Email: [email protected]
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Chase Bryer (Chickasaw) is a current PhD student in Behavioral and Social Health Science at the Brown University School of Public Health. He joined NAISI in 2022, and serves as a liaison between NAISI faculty and students, while contributing to various initiatives focused on building a stronger intellectual environment for undergraduate and graduate Native American and Indigenous and NAIS students at Brown. Through his research, he uses community-based participatory methods to create interventions that will improve health outcomes, with a particular focus among Indigenous queer and Two-Spirit communities. His research, ultimately, aims to inform state actors including social workers, public health professionals, and biomedical researchers with ways to more sensitively engage with marginalized communities through resilience-based approaches to disrupt cycles of historical trauma. Chase holds an MSW from Washington University in St. Louis and a BA in Human Rights and Media from the University of Oklahoma. Chase Bryer research profile.
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Chase's office hours at 67 George St. are Tue. and Thur., 1 - 5 p.m.
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Rae Gould, PhD (Nipmuc)
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Executive Director, NAISI
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Email: [email protected] |
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Phone: (401) 863-5972
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Fall 2022 Office Hours: Wed 3:30-5, or by appt.
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Adjunct Assistant Professor, American Studies
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Affiliated Faculty, Anthropology
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Faculty Associate, Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice
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Dr. Gould joined NAISI in 2019 as Associate Director. Her primary responsibilities include oversight of the developing undergraduate concentration in Native American and Indigenous Studies, programming to support and supplement academic developments, working closely with units across the University engaged in tribal projects, and tribal outreach. She collaborates with centers, departments and offices across the campus, and at other institutions, on academic programming and engagement, in addition to contributing to increased engagement with and support for undergraduate and graduate students. Her research and publishing focus on Southern New England Native American history and culture in the 400 years since European contact, with additional expertise in Indigenous cultural landscapes, federal acknowledgement, NAGPRA and Section 106. Rae Gould research profile.
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Sophia Gumbs
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Program and Administrative Coordinator, NAISI
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Email: sophia_gumbs@brown.edu
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Sophia joined Brown University and NAISI in November of 2022. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University, where her general areas of study were Africana Studies and Gender Studies. Her research interests lie broadly at the intersections of maternal health, Black feminist praxis, reproductive and birth justice, lactation and food sovereignty, and community-based birth work by and for Black and Indigenous women and birthing people. She is also a community-based doula. Sophia has previously worked in a number of administrative support roles, most recently with the NYU Center for the Study of Africa and the African Diaspora. In her new role at NAISI, she is the point of contact for events planning and coordination, communications and outreach, and administrative needs and works closely with related units across campus.
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Cheryll Toney Holley (Nipmuc)
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Tribal Community Member in Residence (part-time), NAISI
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Email: [email protected]
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As the TCMR II, Cheryll will lead culturally-centered and activity-based weekly workshops for Brown University students at the NAISI office, such as herbal medicines, beading, painting, twining and regalia making.
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Join Cheryll on Wednesdays around 5 for snacks and workshops!
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endawnis Spears (Diné/ Ojibwe/ Chickasaw/ Choctaw)
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2022-23 Tribal Community Member in Residence, NAISI
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Email: [email protected]
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endawnis Spears (Diné/ Ojibwe/ Chickasaw/ Choctaw) is impassioned about the diverse and complex intersections of Native American narratives and systems and places of knowledge. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Denver and has worked for the Heard Museum, Museum of Northern Arizona, Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, was a Peabody Essex Museum Native American Arts and Culture Fellow, and currently serves on the board of the Federation of State Humanities Councils. endawnis is the Co-Director of the Upstander Academy, and a founding member of the Akomawt Educational Initiative, an Indigenous education and interpretive consultancy for museums, K-12 schools, and colleges/universities. Originally from Camp Verde, Arizona, she lives in Hope Valley, RI with her husband, Cassius Spears Jr. and their four children, Nizhoni, Sowaniu, Giizhig, and Tishominko.
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endawnis is available to meet virtually or during on-campus drop in hours at 67 George St. (2nd floor) on Tuesdays 10 AM - 2 PM and Wednesdays 1 - 5 PM.
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To make an appointment with endawnis outside of these hours, email her at [email protected].
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Click here to read NAISI's press release about endawnis's role on campus.
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