Rosalyn LaPier
Professor
Contact
- Office
- Jeannette Rankin Hall 104
- Phone
- 406-243-6787
- rosalyn.lapier@umt.edu
- Office Hours
No office hours during summer.
- Website
Personal Summary
Rosalyn is an award winning Indigenous writer, ethnobotanist and environmental activist with a BA in physics and a PhD in environmental history. She works to revitalize Indigenous & traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), to address environmental justice & the climate crisis within Indigenous communities, and to strengthen public policy for Indigenous languages. Dr. LaPier is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of 猎奇重口 and Métis. Hear her story on .
Education
- Ph.D., History, 猎奇重口
- B.A., Physics, Colorado College
Teaching Experience
Environmental Science (ENSC)
- ENSC 508 Environmental Health & Indigenous People
- ENSC 590 Native Plant Stewardship & Ethnobotany (Supervised Internship/Practicum)
- ENSC 396 Native Plant Stewardship & Ethnobotany (Supervised Internship/Practicum)
Environmental Studies (ENST)
- ENST 510 Environmental Issues of Indigenous Communities
- ENST 410 Traditional Environmental Knowledge of Indigenous People
- ENST 310 Environment 猎奇重口: From Anaconda to Zortman
- ENST 201 Environmental Information Resources
Certificate
- Certificate.
Rosalyn is in her 20th year of teaching, including: 10 years with UM's Environmental Studies, 2 years with UM's Native American Studies and 8 years with NAES College (a Native-controlled institution). She also served as a visiting professor at the Harvard Divinity School and the East-West Center in Hawai'i.
Research Interests
Ethnobotany, Indigenous Knowledge, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)- Environmental Justice, Climate Change, Social Movements & Activism
Projects
Research Team, "Native American Intellectual Leadership: Native American Languages," Henry Luce Foundation grant, 2019-2020.
Fellow, "," Native American STEM Faculty, 猎奇重口, Salish Kootenai College, and Sitting Bull College, NSF-APEG-T grant, 2017-2021.
Cultural Advisor, ": Culture, Climate Science and Education on the Flathead Reservation," Salish Kootenai College and the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, NASA’s Innovations in Climate Education – Tribal (NICE-T) grant, 2014-2019.
Selected Publications
BOOKS:
(University of Nebraska Press, 2017).
- Winner of the 2018 John C. Ewers Book Award, for best book on ethnohistory of North America.
- Winner of the 2018 Donald Fixico Award, for best book on American Indian and Canadian First Nations History.
- by Christopher Vecsey, The American Historical Review, Volume 123, Issue 5, December 2018.
- on New Books Network, March 2019.
, Rosalyn LaPier and David R.M. Beck, University of Nebraska Press, 2015.
- Winner of the 2016 Robert G. Athearn Book Award, for best book on history of the 20th century American West.
, Lexicon, Saokio Heritage, 2020.
, Lexicon, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 2004.
Publications
BOOK CHAPTERS & JOURNAL ARTICLES:
Introduction, , written & illustrated by Andy Hirsch, First Second Books, New York, 2021.
Introduction, , by Walter Hildebrandt, Ekstasis Editions, Victoria, British Columbia, 2017.
Chapter, "American Indian Moving to Cities,” , David R.M. Beck and Rosalyn LaPier, Edited by Susan Sleeper-Smith, Juliana Barr, Jean M. O’Brien, Nancy Shoemaker, and Scott Stevens, University of North Carolina Press, 2015.
Journal Article, "‘," Rosalyn LaPier and David R.M. Beck, Western Historical Quarterly, Spring 2014.
Journal Article, Rosalyn LaPier and David R.M. Beck, Chicago History, Spring 2012.
Section Introduction, "Buffalo Jumps," American Indian Places, edited by Frances H. Kennedy, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.
Chapter, "," Beyond ... The Shadows of the Rockies: History of the Augusta Area, Augusta MT: Augusta Historical Society, 2007.
Journal article, “An Important Gift: Blackfeet Language and History,” with William Farr, Journal of American Indian Education, 45:2, Fall 2006.
Chapter, “Between Hay and Grass: A Brief History of Two Métis Communities is Central 猎奇重口,” in William Furdell, ed., Proceedings of the International Conference of Metis History and Culture. Great Falls: University of Great Falls, 1997.
ARTICLES & COMMENTARY (General Audience):
"," High Country News, February 1, 2021.
",” Academic Minute, December 21, 2020.
Interview, "" American Association for the Advancement of Science, November 25, 2020.
"," 猎奇重口 Naturalist, Fall/Winter 2020.
"," Missoula Current, August 21, 2020.
Interview, , Society Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science, June 2020.
“,” with Abaki Beck, High Country News, March 23, 2020.
“,” The Conversation, February 10, 2020.
"," High Country News, August 6, 2019. (In print version September 2, 2019). Honorable Mention for Best Editorial, Print/Online, Professional Division III, 2020, from the .
Interview, on New Books Network, with Stephen Hausmann, May 2019.
"," 猎奇重口 Naturalist, Fall/Winter 2018/2019.
Guest Column, “Moving Toward Justice: Take Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women,” Missoulian, January 16, 2019.
“,” The Conversation, January 16, 2019.
“,” The Conversation, December 13, 2018.
“,” with Souta Calling Last, Native News Online, December 5, 2018.
Interview, "," Prairie Public Radio, North Dakota, November 1, 2018.
"," , October 5, 2018.
"," , August 1, 2018.
Interview, “,” Top of Mind with Julie Rose, BYU Radio, July 2, 2018.
"," , June 15, 2018. (Also in Yes! Magazine.)
Interview, , Podcast, April 15, 2018.
Interview, "," UnDark, March 9, 2018.
Public Service Announcement, : Rosalyn LaPier, Olivia Hallisey and Rumman Chowdhury, #SeeHer Campaign, CBS Corporation, March 2, 2018.
"," The Conversation, October 8, 2017.
“” Open Rivers: Rethinking Water, Place & Community, No. 8, Fall 2017.
"," The Conversation, July 6, 2017. (High Country News & Indian Country Media).
"," 
猎奇重口 Naturalist, Spring/Summer 2017.
"," The Conversation, April 20, 2017. (Indianz.com & Lee Newspapers).
Interview, , Wild Lens: Podcast, April 19, 2017.
Interview, , Harvard Political Review, April 6, 2017.
"" The Conversation, February 16, 2017. (Reprinted in Lee Newspapers).
"," , December 6, 2016. (Reprinted in Univision, December 9, 2016 as "").
"," , November 2, 2016. (Reprinted in the Washington Post, November 4, 2016).
"," 猎奇重口 Naturalist, Spring/Summer 2016.
"," 猎奇重口 Naturalist, Spring/Summer 2015.
"," Crown of the Continent Magazine, Spring 2015.
"," Environmental Justice in Action, July 1, 2014.
Interview, "The Truth About Trees: A Natural and Human History," Film Series and Community Story Project, Spring 2014.
Guest Opinion Column, "," Great Falls Tribune, October 24, 2013.
"," 猎奇重口 Naturalist, Winter 2013/2014.
"," 猎奇重口 Naturalist, Winter 2009/2010.
On-line curriculum, “,” Niitsitapiisinni: Our Way of Life, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, Spring 2006
“,” 猎奇重口 Naturalist, Fall 2005.
Affiliations
-
Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Creative Encounters: Living Religions in America, 2023, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
-
Series Editor, Borderlands and Transcultural Studies, University of Nebraska Press
- Enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of 猎奇重口 & Métis (Red River/Turtle Mountain Chippewa)
Rosalyn is one of eight Indigenous professors nationally in an Environmental Studies/Sciences/Sustainability department. She is the first & only enrolled Blackfeet tribal member to be in a tenure-track position & to recieve tenure at the 猎奇重口.
Professional Experience
Rosalyn works to create positive change within Native American communities. She currently works with:
- , a community based organization led by Indigenous women that works to revitalize Indigenous knowledge, languages & food systems.
- , a national organization that seeks to advocate for Native language medium education.
- , , advisory & selection committee.
International Experience
Rosalyn has been an invited guest and speaker in numerous Indigenous communities in North and South America, including Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezula and Bolivia.
Honors / Awards
- George M. Dennison Presidential Faculty Award for Distinguished Accomplishment, 猎奇重口, 2018
- Featured Alumni, "," 猎奇重口n Magazine, Spring 2018.