Current research


Manuscript topics I am focusing on include: 1) TEK through the Yurok cultural lens; 2) core  hunting values of Yurok; and 3) a wildlife survey via genetic analysis of scats on Yurok ancestral lands 

I am also serving as Principle Investigator in a collaborative research project with the National Park Service and the Yurok Tribe.  I am exploring Yurok TEK as related to meyweehl (Roosevelt elk), as well as analyzing meyweehl habitat and genetics of fecal samples on the Yurok reservation and Redwood National Park.
 
My work is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship in Biology with the National Science Foundation, an agreement with Redwood National Park and the Yurok Tribe, as well as Research Associate status in the Wildlife Department at Humboldt
​State University.    
This muencherhl (ceremonial dress) is made from meyweehl hide and participates in ceremony, illustrating meweehl as both a cultural and natural resource. 

 Completed projects

Click the button below to see the full citations for these products and deliverables.

Mount Graham red squirrel response to post-fire conditions

Here I am snowshoeing on Mount Graham in southeastern Arizona to census red squirrel midden occupancy during my Master's research program at
​The University of Arizona. 

National Park Service Pathways program Report: Introduction to TEK in Wildlife Conservation

The report was the deliverable to successfully complete my Pathways internship.  I was happy to receive acknowledgement for serving 5 years with the National Park Service!  

Considerations for culturally sensitive TEK research in wildlife conservation

This article was the introductory chapter of my doctoral dissertation, that I revised and published in The Wildlife Society Bulletin in 2018.

Undergraduate
​student research projects

Each of these Indigenous students' projects were completed under the Rroulou'sik Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Humboldt State University.  It was such an honor to serve as program coordinator and to mentor these scholars!

Identification of elk habitat on yurok ancestral lands
​-2018-

Student: Matthew Marshall (Hupa)

Bridging genetic analysis and Yurok language to understand bobcat natural history
​-2017-

Student: Isabel Johnson (Chamoru)

hunting values
​of yurok
​-2016-

Student: Marc "Bubba" Riggins (Hupa)