Student Bios Fall 2011
Tawa Ducheneaux – South Dakota COL Graduate
Cherokee Nation
Tawa has a B.A. in Media Arts with an emphasis in Native American
Studies from the University of New Mexico. For nearly a decade,
she has worked in a variety of capacities at Oglala Lakota
College, including as assistant director and most recently
archivist for Woksape Tipi Library and Archives. Currently she is
working toward enhancing access to the archival collections
through digitization projects and working with the Lakota Studies
department to develop internships with language students to do
transcription for audio and video interviews. Her research
interests include development of an online database and
investigations into the roles of cultural protocols and applied
research on tribal lands.
Jerry Flanary – Virginia COL Graduate
Cherokee Nation
Jerry Flanary works as an information specialist at the
University of Arizona, Tucson. Previously he worked in Bookmobile
Services for the Norfolk Public Library. He has worked on special
projects at the Jean Outland Chrysler Art Library in Norfolk, VA
and in the Special Projects Department of the John Vaughn Library
at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. Jerry has a B.A. in
Arts in Education and has shown his work at the Cherokee National
Museum as well as in many fine arts galleries, museums and
publications. He would like to work in cataloging, database
creation or preservation for an indigenous nation or
archives.
Jennifer Himmelreich – New Mexico
Diné
Jennifer has a B.A. in Art and minor in Sociology from Fort
Lewis College. She has worked in a variety of library settings.
As Exhibit Technician, she collaborated with Ak-Chin Indian
community members to develop exhibits and led community
programming at their Him-Dak Eco Museum & Archives. At
SJSU, she is following the digital services and archives
pathways- researching and presenting on indigenous digital
repository projects that reflect an Indigenous community’s
systems of knowledge and accessibility. She was chosen to
participate in ALA’s Emerging Leaders Class of 2013, sponsored by
AILA.
Valarie Kingsland – Alaska COL Graduate
Inupiaq
Valarie lives in Seward, Alaska where she is director of the
Seward Community Library & Museum. Previously she worked in a
school library and this summer was a fellow in the Association of
Research Libraries’ Career Enhancement Fellowship Program. She
believes in the transformative power of libraries, literacy and
lifelong learning, and counts it a privilege to inspire others to
explore, discover and learn. She serves in local and state
library organizations. Her interests include emerging technology,
participatory services, multiple literacies, the integration of
archives, libraries and museums, and their contribution to
community development and empowerment. She is also interested in
using new technologies to preserve and sustain cultural
information. Valarie has a BA in Speech Communication and
Psychology from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
Merida Kipp – Washington COL Graduate
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
Merida has a B.S. in Computer Science from Heritage University in
Washington State. She is the library administrator at Yakama
Nation Library, where she teaches computer classes, writes grants
and conducts job training for many ages. She worked as an
AmeriCorps Team Leader in the Yakima School District. She is a
member of the Washington State Digital Literacy team
Tisa Matheson – Washington COL Graduate
Nez Perce
Tisa works in the cultural preservation field as a Museum
Assistant for the Northwest Museum of Art & Culture in Spokane,
WA. She has attended Collections Care training and the Visiting
Professional program at the Smithsonian. She has a B.A. in Social
Science from Lewis-Clark State College and would like to found a
non-profit foundation dedicated to preserving, teaching and
providing library archival resources for the Plateau cultures.
Jonna Paden – New Mexico COL Graduate
Acoma/Laguna Pueblo
Jonna Paden has a B.U.S. in Linguistics, English and Native
American Studies from the University of New Mexico. She worked as
a buyer and receiver for the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in
Albuquerque and interns at the Indian Pueblo Cultural
Center Library and Archive. She would like to work as an
archivist or tribal librarian.
Alyssa Peterson – Alaska
Tlingit
Alyssa’s career goal is in archives and cultural preservation.
She holds a Bachelors. in Liberal Arts, concentrating in
Anthropology and Northwest Coast Art, from the University of
Alaska Southeast. She has worked as an intern at the Sealaska
Heritage Institute’s Special Collections Department and as an
archives assistant at the University of Alaska Southeast. She
currently works as a records analyst with the Sealaska Heritage
Institute.
Debbie Reese – Illinois COL Graduate
Nambe Pueblo
Debbie Reese, an author, speaker and consultant on American
Indians in children’s literature, was an Assistant Professor in
American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign, prior to beginning her MLIS with COL. She holds
a Ph.D. in Education and taught at public and American Indian
boarding schools in New Mexico and Oklahoma prior to her doctoral
studies.