Research
The bulk of my research to date focused on social networks and the perpetuation and preservation of traditional knowledge systems among the Caddo Nation and Delaware Nation in western Oklahoma. More specifically, this work examined the roles of individuals and organization in the work of cultural reproduction. This research was funded primarily by the National Science Foundation and the American Philosophical Society. I am currently preparing a book manuscript based on this research.
Other ongoing research projects include
Topical and theoretical interests include social networks and social structure, knowledge systems and ways of knowing, material culture and museum anthropology, cultural preservation efforts, expressive culture, and community studies.
Geographic areas of specialty include Native North America, particularly the Eastern Woodlands and the Southern Plains, and Latin America with an emphasis on Southern Mexico.
The bulk of my research to date focused on social networks and the perpetuation and preservation of traditional knowledge systems among the Caddo Nation and Delaware Nation in western Oklahoma. More specifically, this work examined the roles of individuals and organization in the work of cultural reproduction. This research was funded primarily by the National Science Foundation and the American Philosophical Society. I am currently preparing a book manuscript based on this research.
Other ongoing research projects include
- an examination of the life cycle of tribal traditions, specifically the
Delaware Big House and the Caddo Ghost Dance
- book-length work on Wichita Indian tribal life in the 1940s and 1950s
- an analysis of Native American obituaries
- an ethnohistory of the Keechi Indians
Topical and theoretical interests include social networks and social structure, knowledge systems and ways of knowing, material culture and museum anthropology, cultural preservation efforts, expressive culture, and community studies.
Geographic areas of specialty include Native North America, particularly the Eastern Woodlands and the Southern Plains, and Latin America with an emphasis on Southern Mexico.