August 14, 2017

Native American postdoctoral fellows announced for 2017

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion has selected two Native American postdoctoral fellows for the 2017-18 academic year.

Terese Mailhot and Victor Maqque have been chosen as part of the Four Directions: Building a Foundation for Native Scholars program, which is focused on increasing the visibility of Native American initiatives on campus.

“The two Tecumseh Scholar postdocs, both funded by the Diversity Transformation Award, are a streamlined effort to increase the representation of Native American and Indigenous tenure-track faculty at Purdue,” said Dawn Marsh, an associate professor of history and principal investigator for the award. “Both scholars will be in residence at Purdue during the academic year 2017-18 furthering their research, participating in programs, and mentoring both graduate and undergraduate students. It is a win-win situation for the university: enhancing our intellectual and cultural diversity and creating pathways to success for both indigenous scholars.”

Mailhot has done extensive work in literature focused on Native women of color, and violence against women. She is an English and composition instructor at Dona Ana Community College in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and a columnist at Indian Country Today, a Native American news source. Mailhot received her bachelor’s degree in creative writing from New Mexico State University, and her master’s degree in creative writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts. In February, she will release her first book, titled “Heart Berries: A Memoir.”

“I'm honored to begin my journey at Purdue,” she said. “My conversations with students and faculty concerning creative writing, Indigenous knowledge, and what our future holds, it was so inspiring and I am just thrilled to begin!”

Maqque has led academic programming in collaboration with Quecha and Aymara Native students at the University of Notre Dame and Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno, in Peru. He also participated in research focused on the Paiute Indians in Reno, Nevada, the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana, the Pueblo Indians in Santa Fe, New Mexico and the Oneida Nation in Appleton, Wisconsin. Maqque received his doctoral and master’s degrees in history from the University of Notre Dame, and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno, in Peru. He has written numerous publications and presented a lecture titled “On Behalf of Our Community, Indigenous Insurrections in Late-Colonial Andes and Beyond” at Purdue in February. His most recent appointment has been as postdoctoral scholar with the Kellogg Institute of International Studies at Notre Dame, 2016-17.

“I am looking forward to joining the kind and insightful NAECC community and the Department of History at Purdue University,” he said. “I will do my best in contributing to the impact that NAECC has on the presence and significance of the Native and Indigenous peoples, their cultures, and their history at Purdue and the global scholarly community.”

“We are excited to welcome Terese and Victor as our inaugural Tecumseh Scholar postdocs. Their work will continue to advance our campus-wide Native American initiatives at Purdue,” said Felica Ahasteen-Bryant, director of the Native American Educational and Cultural Center at Purdue.

Established in 2007, the NAECC is one of five cultural centers under the Division of Diversity and Inclusion in the Office of the Provost. The NAECC was created to develop new generations of educated Native students who will make positive contributions in their tribal communities and to educate non-Natives who will appreciate indigenous cultures, histories, and traditions. 

Writer: Tim Doty, 765-496-2571, doty2@purdue.edu

Sources: Felica Ahasteen-Bryant, 765-494-4540, Felica@purdue.edu

Dawn Marsh, 765-494-4132, dmarsh@purdue.edu

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