The annual Native and Indigenous Heritage Month keynote lecture features Dr. Adrienne Keene. Dr. Keene's talk will focus on "Native Representation", you can visit her website at https://nativeappropriations.com/

Dr. Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation) is a scholar, writer, blogger, podcast host, and activist. She is passionate about reframing how the world sees contemporary Native cultures. She is the creator and author of Native Appropriations, a blog discussing cultural appropriation and stereotypes of Native peoples in fashion, film, music, and other forms of pop culture. She is the author of Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present (October 2021- Penguin Random House/Ten Speed Press). And she is co-host (with Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip)) of the popular podcast, All My Relations, that explores what it means to be a Native person in contemporary America.

Through her writing and activism, Keene questions and problematizes the ways Indigenous peoples are represented, asking for celebrities, large corporations, and designers to consider the ways they incorporate "Native" elements into their work. She is very interested in how Native peoples are using social and new media to challenge misrepresentations and present counter-narratives that showcase true Native cultures and identities.

A professor at Brown University, Adrienne earned her BA from Stanford University in Native American Studies and Cultural Anthropology, and her doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, in Culture, Communities, and Education. Her research focuses on college access for Native (American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian) students and the role of precollege access programs in student success.

Sponsored by: Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with generous support from the Five College Consortium and the Mellon Foundation.