Tristan Reader
- Associate Professor of Practice, American Indian Studies
- Member of the Graduate Faculty
- Associate Professor of Practice, School of Geography Development and Environment
- Associate Professor, American Indian Studies-GIDP
Contact
Biography
For over 20 years, Tristan Reader has worked on issues related to Indigenous food sovereignty; sustainable and culturally-based development; community empowerment and leadership; and Native American social entrepreneurship.
He is currently Professor of Practice at the University of Arizona with a dual appointment in the Department of American Indian Studies and at the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship. He comes to the UofA after 20 years of grassroots work within the Tohono O’odham community wherre – from 1996 through 2015 – he served as Co-Founder and Co-Director of Tohono O’odham Community Action (TOCA).
Degrees
- Ph.D. Agroecology, Water and Resilience
- Coventry University, Coventry, Warwickshire, United Kingdom
- "Thereby We Shall Live": Tohono O’odham Food Sovereignty and the Confluence of Quantum Leadership, Cultural Vitality, Public Health, and Economic Hybridity
- M.Div. Religion
- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- B.A. Philosophy & Political Science
- Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States
Work Experience
- Tohono O'odham Community Action (TOCA) (1996 - 2015)
Interests
Research
Food Sovereignty; Indigenous Economics; Native American Public Health; Leadership and Empowerment Theory and Practice
Teaching
Food Sovereignty; Food Studies; Native American Studies; Qualitative, Indigenous and Participatory Methodologies; Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Indigenous Economics; Native American Public Health; Leadership and Empowerment Theory and Practice
Courses
No activities entered.
Scholarly Contributions
Chapters
- Thompson, A. B., & Reader, T. (2021). The Hoofed Clan story and storywork: Red Lake Ojibwe foodways and Indigenous food sovereignty. In Routledge Handbook of the Archaeology of Indigenous-Colonial Interaction in the Americas,(pp 486-502). Taylor & Francis Group.
- Reader, T., & Thompson, A. (2020). The Hoofed Clan Story and Storywork: Red Lake Ojibwe Foodways and Indigenous Food Sovereignty. In Handbook of the Archaeology of Indigenous-Colonial Interaction in the Americas. Routledge.
- Reader, T., & Johnson, T. (2017). Fishing for Change: A Pedagogy of Native Food Sovereignty. In Food Leadership: Leadership and Adult Learning for Global Food Systems Transformation(pp 37-52). Rotterdam/Boston: Sense Publishers.
- Reader, T., & Johnson, T. (2016). Tohono O'odham Himdag and Agri/Culture. In Religion and Sustainable Development. University of Kentucky Press.
Journals/Publications
- Rainie, S. C., Rainie, S. C., Yazzie, J., Yazzie, J., Wilson, J., Wilson, J., Whiting, D., Whiting, D., Walker, A., Walker, A., Strawhacker, C., Strawhacker, C., Reader, T., Reader, T., Pulsifer, P., Pulsifer, P., Larson, S., Larson, S., Juan, A., , Juan, A., et al. (2019). Building an Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network Through Relational Accountability. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development.
- Jäger, M., Rainie, S. C., Strawhacker, C., Johnson, N., Pulsifer, P., Ferguson, D. H., Reader, T., & Huntington, O. (2018). The Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network: Supporting Indigenous Scholars through Research and Academic Innovations. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development.More infoIn recent decades, there has been a movement toward rectifying injustices and developing collaborations between Indigenous communities and mainstream researchers to address environmental challenges that are of concern to Indigenous Peoples. This movement, primarily driven by Indigenous community leaders and scholars, emphasizes community-driven research that addresses Indigenous People’s interests, foregrounds Indigenous Knowledge systems, and both respects and asserts Indigenous sovereignty. This article describes a nascent model in the movement—the Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network (IFKN)—designed to connect Indigenous communities and scholars across the Arctic and the U.S. Southwest. IFKN’s goal is to foster a network of Indigenous leaders, citizens, and scholars who are focused on research and community capacity related to food sovereignty and resilience. IFKN members collectively work to promote and carry out research that (1) utilizes Indigenous research processes, (2) embraces and respects Indigenous Knowledge systems, and (3) supports Indigenous communities (IFKN, 2018). The authors discuss relational accountability and centering of story, which form the foundation for the methodological approaches and work of IFKN.
Presentations
- Reader, T. (2018, October). Native Food Sovereignty: Indigenous Knowledge, Science, & Relational Accountability. SACNAS National Diversity in STEM Conference. San Antonio, TX: Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science.
- Reader, T. (2017, August). Tohono O’odham Food Sovereignty: Moving Mountains. Incorporating Public Health Skills to Improve Quality of Life: Examples from Native American Food Systems. University of Arizona: UA Center for Rural Health; Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.
- Reader, T. (2017, August). “Community-Based Planning & Evaluation for Wellness”. Incorporating Public Health Skills to Improve Quality of Life: Examples from Native American Food Systems. University of Arizona: UA Center for Rural Health; Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.
Others
- Reader, T. (2018, October). "Thereby we shall live" : Tohono O'odham food sovereignty and the confluence of quantum leadership, cultural vitality, public health, and economic hybridity. PhD Dissertation. https://openalex.org/W2976434579
