Jennifer Nez Denetdale


Jennifer Nez Denetdale is an Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of New Mexico, where she teaches courses in Native American Studies with an emphasis on race, class, and gender. She also specializes in Navajo history and culture and the effects of colonization and decolonization as it has impacted the Navajo people.

Early life

Denetdale's parents had both attended Stewart Indian School, a boarding school in Carson City, Nevada. Denetdale was raised in Tohatchi, New Mexico from childhood with her three sisters and one brother. Her four clans are the Zia Clan, and she was born for the Salt People Clan. Her maternal grandfathers are of the Red House clan and her paternal grandfathers are of the Water-Running-Together Clan.

Mentors

Denetdale cites her former professor Luci Tapahonso and Louis Owens as her early mentors in her pursuit of higher education.

Education

Denetdale earned her M.A. in English from Northern Arizona University. She later earned her doctorates in history from NAU in 1999.

Books, Essays and Lectures

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