Position
- Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Western Washington University
Education
- University of New Mexico
MA (2005), Ethnology & Linguistics
PhD. (2013), Ethnology & Linguistics
Dissertation: “Sowing Seeds for the Future to Honor Tigua History and Tradition”: Diabetes Prevention Practices at Ysleta del Sur Pueblo
Committee: Dr. Les Field (Chair), Dr. Beverly Singer, Dr. Erin Debenport, Dr. Louise Lamphere, Dr. Nina Wallerstein
- University of Chicago
BA (1999), Anthropology & Latin American Studies
MA (2003), Master of Arts Program in the Social Science (focus on Federal Indian Law)
Thesis: Issues of Tigua Recognition: Negotiating Legal and Ethnic Identity on the U.S. – Mexico Border.
Committee: Dr. Straus and Dr. Fogelson
I use mixed-methods research to examine the intersections of identity and chronic disease. I have training in team science, inter/transdisciplinary research, comparative effectiveness research (CER), and community based participatory research (CBPR) in frontier, rural and urban settings. I am currently working in three areas. First, I am examining the practice of anthropology, both in the field and the knowledge we produce in teaching and scholarship. Second, I am working in partnership with native peoples to decolonize both the process of research and the way data is used from generation to generation. Third, I am reevaluating the concept of cultural competency and the training doctor receive after they complete medical school. For a complete list of current projects, please check out my research page and download my Bruna-CV.