Baccalaureate Curriculum Development
Initiator, Program Manager (2019-2023)
Navajo Weaving Bachelor of Fine Arts (2019) Diné College, School of Arts, Humanities, and English
Navajo silversmithing and Navajo weaving creates a pathway for artisans that maintains the cultural arts as its pedagogical roots. Graduates of this program are set to re-envision the future of the southwest Indian art’s culture and economic markets through visual sovereignty strategies. Hulleah Tsinahnahjinnie (Seminole/Diné ) posits visual sovereignty as “a particular type of consciousness rooted in confidence which is exhibited as a strength in cultural and visual presence” (2009, 10). In this manner the BFA emphases seed its students with responsibilities to Diné community, culture, and ways of understanding the world through the language of art. For Navajo silversmiths and weavers, their work is one in the same: Diné culture and Diné language.
Consultant, Program Instructor (2013-2026)
Psychology Bachelor of Arts (2015) Diné College, School of Business and Social and Behavioral Sciences
The culturally-based Navajo Psychology BA program at Diné College, with emphases in criminal and restorative justice, substance abuse counseling, and health psychology, will provide students with the skills they need to obtain employment and promotion in the workforce, to pursue graduate studies, and to strengthen the factors that enable individuals and communities to thrive.