Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner

Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner (Luiseño & Cupeño) is an Indigenous feminist philosopher. Shelbi researches, teaches, and consults on Indigenous research and evaluation methods, cultural and language reclamation, Indigenous epistemologies, Indigenous feminist interventions in critical social work, and land-based feminist coalition-building. Shelbi is fascinated by the intersections of Indigenous knowledge systems, caretaking, power, and trauma. Shelbi is a proud first-generation descendant of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, and is of both Luiseño (Payómkawichum) and Cupeño (Kupangaxwichem) descent. She is an assistant professor in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at University of Maryland, College Park and the founding director of the Indigenous Futures Lab, a hub of Indigenous feminist research and evaluation.

The Indigenous Futures Lab is a hub of Indigenous research, evaluation, and relationship-building where we center Indigenous knowledges to build futures of co-flourishing. The mission of the Indigenous Futures Lab is to honor and serve local Indigenous communities in their struggles for justice, co-create Indigenous futures through Indigenous-led scholarship and activism, and build coalitions that center the land and all of our relations. Some of the projects on the horizon for the Indigenous Futures Lab include: Piscataway Pathways, an archival access project the centers the epistemic and linguistic sovereignty of local Indigenous communities; a faculty coalition around Black and Indigenous environmental futures; an Indigenous knowledges speaker series; the virtual Decolonizing Death Cafe, where practicing and aspiring care workers can co-create community around reclaiming Indigenous death and grieving practices; Bead, Weave, and Read, a series of workshops that combines art, theory, and visiting; and many other community feasts and events.