Adrienne J. Keene (born 20 October 1985) is a Native American academic, writer, and activist.[1][2] A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, she is the founder of Native Appropriations, a blog on contemporary Indigenous issues analyzing the way that Indigenous peoples are represented in popular culture, covering issues of cultural appropriation in fashion and music and stereotyping in film and other media. She was also an assistant professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies at Brown University, where her research focused on educational outcomes for Native students.

Dr.
Adrienne J. Keene
Keene speaks to the US National Archives in 2021
Born (1985-10-20) 20 October 1985 (age 39)
NationalityCherokee Nation, Americans
Occupation(s)Academic, activist
Known forNative Appropriations blog
Academic background
EducationStanford University
Harvard Graduate School of Education (Ed.D.)
Thesis"College Pride, Native Pride, and Education for Nation Building: Portraits of Native Students Navigating Freshman Year." (2014)
Doctoral advisorSarah Lawrence-Lightfoot
Academic work
DisciplineNative American Studies
American Studies
InstitutionsBrown University
Websitenativeappropriations.com Edit this at Wikidata

Early life and education

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Keene is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and grew up in San Diego, California.[3] She earned her B.A. from Stanford University in Cultural and Social Anthropology and Native American Studies in 2007. Keene then received a master's degree in education in 2010 followed by a doctorate Ed.D. in culture, communities and education in May 2014 from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.[4] Her dissertation was titled "College Pride, Native Pride, and Education for Nation Building: Portraits of Native Students Navigating Freshman Year."[5]

Activism

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Keene's blog Native Appropriations is a webpage and forum for Native peoples, including discussions of cultural appropriation, media representations and updates on Indigenous activism.[6] The site and Keene's writing there, as well as across other social media sites and speaking engagements, have drawn notice for commentary on topics including Native American mascots,[7][8][9] Dakota Access Pipeline protests,[10][11] college access for Native students,[12] cultural appropriation in children's literature,[13] tourism in Indigenous communities,[14][15] fashion[16][17][18] and racist costumes.[19][20]

Supporting Native college students has also been part of Keene's work.[3] She belongs to College Horizons, an organization that has sponsored a series of workshops that support Native students through the different stages of the college process, from admissions to navigating college life.[21] This work formed part of her dissertation.[3]

Starting in 2019, along with Matika Wilbur (Swinomish/Tulalip), Keene co-hosts a podcast called "All My Relations," which investigates and delves into contemporary Native identity.[22]

Academic career

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In 2014, Keene became a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in Brown University's Department of Anthropology and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America.[23] In 2016, she was appointed Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies at Brown.[24] She resigned from this position in 2024.[25] She cited isolation and its impact on her health as the main reason, writing on her blog that she was "exhausted and lonely."[25]

Her research focuses on access to higher education for Native students in America, as well as Native representation in media and culture.[26] She continues this project with research on the use of media and emerging technology platforms by Native people to combat these images.[3] Her academic book, College Pride, Native Pride, about the College Horizons program is forthcoming.[27]

She was affiliated with the American Studies Association, the Native American Indigenous Studies Association, the American Educational Research Association, the Eastern Sociological Society, and the National Indian Education Association.[24]

Publications

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  • Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present. Ten Speed Press, 2021. ISBN 978-1-9848-5794-1.
  • "College Pride, Native Pride: A Portrait of a Culturally Grounded Precollege Access Program for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Students." Harvard Educational Review, 2016.
  • "Representations matter: Supporting Native students in college environments". Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity, 2015.

References

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  1. ^ Keene, Adrienne [@NativeApprops] (20 October 2016). "Today is my birthday! If you'd like to support the work I do, I have two causes I'd love to signal boost today" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Keene, Adrienne [@NativeApprops] (12 April 2018). "On my 18th birthday in 2003 I went to get my navel pierced as my first act of rebellion. Today, 14 years later, I finally took it out forever. My loving partner played Genie in a Bottle in solemn commemoration. 😂#GoodbyeEarlyAughts https://t.co/GcKSV0lOZI" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 September 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b c d Summers, Juana (27 July 2014). "Q&A: How Is The Native College Experience Different?". NPR Ed. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  4. ^ Anderson, Jill. "Getting to Know Ed.D Marshal Adrienne Keene". Harvard Graduate School of Education. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  5. ^ Leddy, Chuck. "A capstone to learning". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  6. ^ Rutherford-Morrison, Lara. "Why This Girl's Apology After Being Called Out For Cultural Appropriation Is Going Viral". Bustle. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
  7. ^ Roy, Anthony (May 3, 2014). "A Firsthand Account of Reed College's 2014 Vine Deloria, Jr. Lecture Series on Native American Mascots". Native News Online. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  8. ^ Rao, Anita. "Native Appropriations And New Media". WUNC. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  9. ^ Scovel, Shannon (June 27, 2017). "Supreme Court First Amendment case could affect local and national team name debates". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  10. ^ "11 Things To Know About Native Resistance To #DAPL". Buzzfeed News. 24 November 2016.
  11. ^ Mei, Gina (28 November 2016). "10 Ways to Help #NoDAPL if You Can't Get to North Dakota". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  12. ^ Summers, Juana (27 July 2014). "Q&A: How Is The Native College Experience Different?". NPR Ed. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  13. ^ Fallon, Claire (2016-03-18). "What J.K. Rowling's New Story Can Teach Us About Cultural Appropriation". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  14. ^ Rice, Zak Cheney (May 30, 2017). "Airbnb tells users to go "off the grid ... Sioux style" in California, which is not Sioux land". Mic. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  15. ^ Subbaraman, Nidhi (May 30, 2017). "Airbnb Apologizes For Teepee Ad That Native Americans Said Was Racist". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  16. ^ Andrews, Jessica. "Dear White Women, We Need to Talk About Coachella". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  17. ^ Hardy, Alyssa. "This Coachella Attendee Was Called Out for Cultural Appropriation, and Her Response Is Going Viral". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  18. ^ "How wearing a headdress to Coachella ignited a debate about the line between shaming and educating". CBC Radio. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  19. ^ Bogado, Aura (2014-10-24). "Native Appropriations Reminds You: Don't Dress up Like an Indian on Halloween". ColorLines. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  20. ^ Burris, Sarah K. (October 31, 2016). "Horrifying racists mock Native American protesters with #NoDAPL Halloween costumes". Raw Story. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  21. ^ "About Our Organization". College Horizons.
  22. ^ "All My Relations | WHAT WE DO". All My Relations. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  23. ^ Rose, Tricia. "Introducing... Adrienne Keene, CSREA and Anthropology Postdoctoral Fellow". Brown University. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  24. ^ a b "Adrienne Keene- CV" (PDF). Brown University.
  25. ^ a b "The Next Chapter". Native Appropriations. 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  26. ^ "Adrienne J. Keene Assistant Professor of American Studies". Brown University. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  27. ^ "College Pride, Native Pride". Adrienne Keene. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
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