Visiting Scholars in Native American Studies
2020-21 Academic year
This academic year, we welcomed two Visiting Instructors / Mellon Fellows to Fort Lewis College.
Dr. Brian Twenter
Dr. Twenter is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Native American & Indigenous Studies and Mellon Scholar for the 2020-2021 Academic Year at Fort Lewis College. He received his Ph.D. in English at the University of South Dakota. His areas of expertise are Indigenous Literatures, Indigenous Popular Culture, Television, and Film, Lakota Landscapes and Languages, Trans-Indigenous Literature, Contemporary American Literature, and Environmental Studies.
Dr. Davina Two Bears
Dr. Two Bears is Diné (Navajo) originally from Birdsprings, Arizona. Her maternal clan is Tódích’íi’nii, Bitter Water, and she was born for Táchii’nii, Red Running into the Water Clan. Before deciding to go back to school, Dr. Two Bears worked for the Navajo Nation Archaeology Department for 14 years as a tribal archaeologist and program manager. In 2019 Dr. Two Bears completed her dissertation and received her doctoral degree from Indiana University in Anthropology with an emphasis in Archaeology, and a PhD Minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies. Davina's dissertation focuses on the history of the Old Leupp Boarding School (OLBS), an early twentieth century Federal Indian Boarding School on the southwestern Navajo Reservation in Leupp, Arizona. She enjoys teaching, spending time with her children and family, attending Navajo & Native American cultural events, and listening to Native American contemporary music.
Aside from teaching courses in their areas of expertise, they will also be holding talks and workshops related to the goals of our Mellon grant.
Goals
We plan to host 3-4 Native American / Indigenous scholars on campus for multi-day events geared toward student engagement and/or faculty development.