Current Position:

Faculty, Environmental Studies Program

Description:

Rosalyn LaPier spent 20+ years learning Blackfeet ethnobotany and ecological knowledge from her now late maternal grandmother Annie Mad Plume Wall.Rosalyn grew up primarily on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana. However she spent significant time throughout the entire Northwest as a child, with her mother and relatives who were migrant farmworkers.

Rosalyn has worked within the non-profit world for 20+ years building community capacity within Native American organizations and communities, and preserving Native American languages and traditional ecological knowledge.  She continues to work with Native non-profits, serving as an adviser and grant writer.

Rosalyn joined the Environmental Studies program faculty in fall 2012. She brought with her 10 years of academic experience, teaching two years with the Native American Studies Department at UM and 8 years at a Native American controlled college in the Midwest.

Office Hours:

T/TH 10:00 - 11:00 am

Field Of Study:

Traditional Ecological Knowledge; Ethnobotany; Native American Belief and Ethical Systems; U.S. Environmental History and Public Policy.

Courses:

New Courses on Native Peoples and the Environment for Spring 2013.

Education:

Ph.D. Candidate, Environmental History, University of Montana

M.A., Liberal Studies (through Religious Studies Dept.), DePaul University

B.A., Physics, Colorado College

Teaching Experience:

ENST 594 Environmental Issues of Native Americans, Spring 2013

ENST 491 Nature and Native Americans, Spring 2013

ENST 201 Environmental Information Resources

NASX 303E Ecological Perspectives in Native American Traditions

NASX/RSTS 301 American Indian Religion and Philosophy

NASX 304E  Native American Belief and Philosophy

NASX 391  American Indian Environmental Knowledge and Ethics

NASX 475X  Tribal Sovereignty

Affiliations:

State of Montana, State Historic Preservation Office, Board Member, 2007-2010, 2011-2014, appointed by Governor Brian Schweitzer

Phi Alpha Theta, lifetime member

Blackfeet Tribe of Montana, enrolled member

Métis (Red River/Turtle Mountain Chippewa)

Honors/Awards:

International Research Grant, International Studies, University of Montana, Summer 2013

Travel Award, National Science Foundation, STEM Women of Color Conclave, Spring 2012

Graduate Fellowship, The Newberry Consortium in American Indian Studies, The Newberry Library, Chicago IL, 2009-2010

Travel Grant, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C., Fall 2009

Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C., 2007

Frances C. Allen Fellow, D'Arcy McNickle Center for the History of American Indians, The Newberry Library, Chicago, 2007

Research Fellowship, Montana Committee for the Humanities, 2004-2005

Selected Publications:

Book Manuscript, "'Determining Our Own Destiny:' American Indians in Chicago, 1893-1934,"  with David R.M. Beck, (Under contract with University of Nebraska Press).

Journal Article, "‘One Man Relocation Team:’ Scott Henry Peters and American Indian Migration in the 1930's," with David R.M. Beck, Western Historical Quarterly, Spring 2014, (Accepted for publication).

Book Review, "Huanduj. Brugmansia," Economic Botany. 67 (1). (Accepted for publication).

Book Review, "California Indian Languages," by Victor Golla, California History, 89:4, September 2012.

Journal Article, "Crossroads for a Culture: American Indians in Progressive Era Chicago," with David R.M. Beck, Chicago History, Spring 2012.

Article, "From the Natural to the Supernatural: Discovering the Piegan People's World View," Montana Naturalist, Winter 2009/2010.

Section Introduction, "Buffalo Jumps," in Frances H. Kennedy, ed., American Indian Places, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2008.

Chapter, "Métis Life Along Montana's Front Range," in Beyond ... The Shadows of the Rockies: History of the Augusta Area, Augusta MT: Augusta Historical Society, 2007.

Guest Opinion Column, "Native Americans in the Academy," The Missoulian, December 13, 2007.

Book Review, "The Blackfeet Fur Trade on the Upper Missouri," by John G. Lepley, Montana: The Magazine of Western History, 56:3, Autumn 2006.

Journal Article, "An Important Gift: Blackfeet Language and History," with William Farr, Journal of American Indian Education, 45:2, Fall 2006

Chapter/Section, "Relationship with the Land -- Seasonal Round," Niitsitapiisinni: Our Way of Life, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta

Article, "Blackfoot Botanist: Annie Mad Plume Wall," Montana Naturalist, Fall 2005

Lexicon, Blackfeet Vocabulary Terms for Items of Material Culture, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution 2005

Other Publications:

Featured or Interviewed in articles:

Martin Kidston. "Native American Professors Hired to Tenure-Tracked Jobs at University of Montana," The Missoulian, January 21, 2013.

Editor. "University of Montana hires Blackfeet Professor," Glacier Reporter. October 3, 2012.

Clay Scott. Mountain West Voices. September 21, 2012.

David Beck. "Sustainable Development in Indigenious Communities in Mexico and the United States," Expanding Horizons, International Studies Newsletter, University of Montana, March 2010, 2-3.