Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown University

Last week, NAISI had the privilege of attending the Tomaquag Museum's 23rd Annual Honoring and Cultural Celebration—a particularly special event for our team, as two of our own were recognized for their outstanding work.

🏆 Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason (NAISI Assistant Director) received the Princess Red Wing Arts & Culture Award. This honor celebrates the legacy of Narragansett/Wampanoag artist, storyteller, activist, writer, knowledge keeper, and original voice of the Tomaquag Museum, Princess Red Wing, while recognizing the vital contributions of today’s culture bearers.

🏆 endawnis Spears (Swearer Center Practitioner in Residence for Tribal Engagement) was awarded the Eleanor Dove Entrepreneur Award. Honoring Eleanor Dove’s legacy as an entrepreneur and founder of Dovecrest Indian Restaurant, this award recognizes leaders who share Indigenous culture through their businesses.

Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees, and kudos to the Tomaquag Museum for hosting such a powerful celebration of culture, community, and achievement. Wunneanatsu and endawnis, we can’t thank you enough for all the work you do—both at Brown and beyond!

Please join NAISI in welcoming our new Faculty Director, Dr. Lukas Rieppel!

Rieppel is a historian of science, capitalism, and museums. With a technical background in molecular evolution and ecology, his research explores how large-scale social institutions like capitalism and imperialism shape what is known about Earth and its many inhabitants.

His current research centers on the deep history of Lakotan treaty lands. In addition to documenting the role played by the Earth sciences in colonizing the Missouri watershed, he is working with collaborators in the Pine Ridge Reservation to design an exhibit that re-interprets prehistoric fossils from Lakotan treaty lands. This exhibit will focus on the lands, philosophies, and citizens of a tribal nation whose ongoing presence is central to a fuller understanding of the fossilized bones of animals currently on display all over the world, the site where they had been for millions of years, and their journey to imperial museums of natural history.

In a brief statement, Lukas told us what he’s looking forward to as Faculty Director:

“I am delighted to join the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative as interim faculty director. I especially look forward to connecting more deeply with the students, faculty, staff, and community partners who sustain this important work. As a non-Native scholar whose research focuses largely on the North American West, I am also eager to learn more about the histories and cultures of Tribal Nations in the Northeast. Above all, I am committed to supporting the Initiative and strengthening its presence across the Brown community.”

To learn more about Rieppel’s work, visit his personal website: https://sites.google.com/view/lukasrieppel/

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NAISI would also like to extend our deepest, most heartfelt thanks to Dr. Bathsheba Demuth for serving as interim Faculty Director from 2024-2026. A strong advocate and partner, her leadership and support have been invaluable to NAISI’s growth over the past two years. She will spend the next year on sabbatical and research leave. Thank you, Bathsheba!

Postdoc opportunity! 📣 IBES seeks candidates for the distinguished Voss Postdoctoral Fellowship in any field relevant to environmental research. Appointments start July 2027 with an expected term of two years.

Learn more and submit step-one proposals by September 1, 2026: https://ibes.brown.edu/opportunities/postdoctoral-researchers

Check out the News from Brown article featuring recent graduate and former Native Heritage Series co-coordinator, David Felipe!

Felipe, a first-generation Zapotec & Mexican student, earned his bachelor’s degree in May, graduating with concentrations in international and public affairs and ethnic studies. Across both fields, he focused on education, immigration and Indigenous communities, particularly those connected to Oaxaca, the region in southern Mexico that’s home to his family’s Zapoteco heritage.

As an Edward Guiliano ’72 Global Fellow, Felipe supplied the only elementary school in Mixtán, Mexico, with academic materials for one year. The Brown Class of 2026 graduate will return to Mexico this fall as a recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching Award.

Read the article, "David Felipe: Empowering communities through access to education, mentorship," at the link below:
https://www.brown.edu/news/2026-06-24/david-felipe-fulbright-education-mexico

Photo: News from Brown

Today we welcome the Summer Solstice—the longest day of the year, and the start of astronomical summer. ☀️

For many Indigenous peoples, the Solstice marks a time of renewal, gratitude, and reconnection. However you’re honoring this transition, NAISI wishes you a day rooted in joy, community, and abundant sunshine.

Congratulations, Class of 2026! 🎉

During Commencement and Reunion Weekend, NAISI honored graduating students at the annual Native American at Brown Alumni (NABA) Dinner. This highly anticipated event brings together past and present Native graduates, their families, and community members to celebrate their many achievements.

Sunday brought a cleansing rain as community members gathered to celebrate NAISI’s third cohort of Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies (CNAIS) concentrators. Thank you to everyone who made this weekend possible, and to the family, mentors, and community members who have supported our graduates throughout their journeys.

To our graduates: We are so proud of you and can’t wait to see the impacts you’ll continue to make. Thank you for being in community with us.

Check out some of our favorite moments from this incredible weekend! 🐻🎓

Please join us in celebrating NAISI Assistant Director Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason, whose debut picture book, "Grandmother Moon," was selected for the 2026 Library of Congress National Book Festival!

One of the nation’s largest literary events, the National Book Festival brings together some of the most recognized writers in the country, alongside a small number of selected works that represent communities and stories from across the U.S., drawing tens of thousands of readers each year. One youth and one adult title from each state and territory is chosen for the “Great Reads from Great Places” list, with "Grandmother Moon" representing Connecticut in 2026.

Congratulations, Wunnea—we're so proud of you! 🎉❤️

Check out the recent blog post from CNAIS concentrator, co-DUG leader, and 2026 Center for Native American Youth Brave Heart Fellow, Jeamilett Martinez!

Read the blog, "Two-Eyed Seeing: A Reflection on Western Science & Indigenous Knowledge on Earth Day," at the link below!🔗
https://www.cnay.org/two-eyed-seeing-earth-day/

Photo: CNAY's "What’s Blooming in Brave Heart Country?" social media post

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The Brave Heart track of the Center for Native American Youth Fellowship uplifts Native youth from the Pacific Northwest (ages 18–24) as leaders in environmental justice—supporting their work to advance food sovereignty, protect sacred lands & waters, and carry forward Indigenous knowledge for future generations.

NAISI would like to extend a tremendous thank you to everyone who joined us for our Round Dance in honor of Brown’s graduating Native and Indigenous students! 🎓❤️

NAISI was proud to partner with Natives at Brown - NAB to create such a wonderful evening filled with joy, song, laughter, and community. Seeing so many people travel from across the region to celebrate and uplift our students was a powerful reminder of how much our communities consistently show up for one another.

Creating spaces where Indigenous students feel seen, supported, and celebrated is essential, and this gathering provided exactly that. We are deeply grateful to Narragansett elder, Evangeline Hankinson, for her welcoming words, to Jonathan Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag) for serving as MC, to Chris Newell (Passamaquoddy), Justin Beatty(Ojibwe/Saponi), and the Iron River singers for sharing your songs and hand drums, to Destiny Spears (Narragansett) of Wisagate for providing a delicious, local meal, and to Leah Hopkins-Perry (Narragansett) for your enthusiastic support from the very beginning.

📸: DuVarney Film and Photo