In our sixth episode, host Maria Archibald speaks with Dr. Thomas Michael Swensen, assistant professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Utah, about Indigenous belonging in Alaska and beyond. Swensen’s study focuses on Native American and Western Hemispheric history, law, art, and literature, and he has interest in punk and urban studies. Yes, punk.
Born and raised in the Kodiak Archipelago and an original shareholder in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement corporations Koniag, Inc., and Leisnoi, Inc., Swensen is enrolled in the federally recognized Tangirnaq native village – a.k.a. the Woody Island tribe – and serves the Alutiiq on the board of directors of the Koniag education foundation.