In 2014, American Indian Studies welcomed two faculty members to the department.
Chris Teuton, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, joined UW as a professor and chair of the Department of American Indian Studies. Prior to coming to Seattle, he taught Indigenous textual and cultural studies and Indigenous literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Victoria in British Columbia, the University of Denver and Appalachian State University. Teuton’s research focuses on developing Indigenous research methodologies within the study of Indigenous literature. He has lectured nationally and internationally, and served as a consultant with the Cherokee Nation to create their K-12 educational curriculum. Teuton has authored several books including “Reasoning Together: the Native Critics Collective,” which was voted one of the 10 most influential books of the first 10 years of the 21st century in Native American and Indigenous Studies by the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association.
Stephanie Fryberg, a member of the Tulalip Tribes, accepted a joint appointment as associate professor in American Indian Studies and Psychology. Fryberg previously served as an associate professor of psychology and affiliate faculty member in American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona, and as the director of Cultural Competency, Learning Improvement and Tulalip Community Development for the Marysville School District in Marysville, Wash. Her primary research interests focus on how social representation of race, culture and social class influence the development of self, psychological well-being, and educational attainment. In 2011, Fryberg testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on the topic of “Stolen Identities: The impact of racist stereotypes on Indigenous people.” She received her masters and doctorate degrees in social psychology from Stanford University, where in 2011 she was inducted into its Multicultural Hall of Fame.