Staff

The staff members listed below work for the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Brown. Find them at the NAISI offices at 67 George St. during the academic year.  (See the Affiliated Staff page for additional staff from offices and departments across Brown’s campus who work closely with NAISI.)

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Rae Gould, PhD (Nipmuc Nation)

  • Executive Director, Native American and Indigenous Studies
  • Email: [email protected] | Phone: (401) 863-5972
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor, American Studies 
  • Affiliated Faculty, Anthropology
  • Faculty Associate, Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice
  • Dr. Gould joined NAISI in 2019 as Associate Director. Her primary responsibilities include oversight of developing an undergraduate concentration in Native American and Indigenous Studies, programming to support and supplement academic developments, and tribal outreach. She also 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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Felicia Bartley (Pueblo of Isleta (Teu-I))

  • John Hay Library Fellow and 2020-2022 Public Humanities Fellow, Native American and Indigenous Studies
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Felicia is the graduate student fellow at the John Hay Library; her interests include exploring how Pueblo cultural centers, museums and ecomuseums contribute to the well-being of their respective communities and citizens through their programs, exhibitions, and systems of teaching. She is a 1st year MA student in Brown's Public Humanities Program.
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Makana Kushi​ (Kanaka Maoli)

  • Program Coordinator, Native American and Indigenous Studies
  • Email: [email protected] | Phone: (401) 863-3693
  • As the NAISI program coordinator, Makana's main roles are community-focused programming and undergraduate and graduate student engagement. Contact her if you have questions about scheduling events, about our weekly "open hours," connecting students to NAISI resources, or collaboration on Native and Native Studies-focused community building events on Brown's campus. In addition to working for NAISI, Makana is a 3rd year PhD student in Brown's American Studies program.
  • Make an appointment at Makana's office hours here.
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endawnis Spears​ (Diné/ Ojibwe/ Chickasaw/ Choctaw)

  • 2021-2022 Tribal Community Member in Residence, Native American and Indigenous Studies
  • Contact endawnis by email: [email protected]
  • 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. 
  • endawnis is available to meet in-person on Wednesday afternoons from 1-6 p.m. and virtually by appointment on Tuesdays from 3-5 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. To make an appointment with endawnis, email her directly at [email protected].
  • Click here to read NAISI's press release about endawnis's role on campus. 
  • Click here to sign up for virtual office hours with endawnis. 
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Sara Wintz​​

  • Administrative and Communications Coordinator, Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative
  • Email: [email protected] | 401-863-5246
  • Sara is responsible for communications and administrative oversight. Contact them if you have questions about event logistics (i.e. domestic/international travel, lodging, catering, media services), communications (newsletters, social media, listservs, website) or financial transactions (i.e. honorariums, reimbursement, co-sponsorship funds).
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    Miranda Worl (Tlingit-Filipino)

    • 2021-2022 Public Humanities Fellow, Native American and Indigenous Studies
    • Email: [email protected]

    • My research interests are in Alaska Native and Indigenous Cultural Heritage, History & Education Studies. At Brown, my research focus has been on current issues and concerns of Alaska Native peoples, such as subsistence rights, cultural appropriation, repatriation, and inequities in public education. Recently, I have been studying the colonial impacts on Southeast Alaska Native peoples through complex power dynamics and political and scientific constructions that shape sociopolitical barriers, such as intergenerational trauma and legislative inequities, in Alaska Native subsistence policies. I aim to serve as a resource on Tlingit ethnohistory and as a facilitator between cultural heritage centers, museums, and schools, to spark engagement critical to the education of our future generations. In part, the direction I go is reflective of my personal career interests. In another sense, it is responsive to direct feedback from my community and the critical needs of Alaska Native peoples.