Who I am

I grew up on a farm in Indiana in the early 1940s through the early '60s. In that time and place, farmers' daughters did not go to college. I was expected to marry a farmer's son and raise kids and chickens. But during my junior year in high school, a visiting chain-smoking teacher with one lung and a big heart encouraged me to apply to college. Thanks to him, I went to Indiana University and never returned to the kids-and-chickens plan.

My undergrad focus on philosophy and biology led me to graduate study in the history and philosophy of science at IU. I dropped out of that program to "do something relevant with my life": I joined the Peace Corps. When I returned, I was again drawn to academics. While I lived in upstate New York, I commuted to the New School to study philosophy for a semester. Then I switched coasts.

My years in the San Francisco Bay Area were liberating. There I became ensconced in the mind-and heart-opening women's community, where I enjoyed discussions about women's spirituality, art, and ecofeminism. I began writing and doing artwork. Financially, I was barely getting by, but I earned a Master’s in Library Science from UC Berkeley, which allowed me to work part-time as a librarian while studying Interdisciplinary Creative Arts at San Francisco State. It was there that I met the award-winning filmmaker Pat Ferrero, who inspired my decades-long interest in Indigenous American cultures and worldviews.

I enjoyed the interdisciplinary approach and sought a doctoral program where I might continue to learn about Indigenous cultures from multiple perspectives. I came to the History of Consciousness program at the University of California Santa Cruz, where I earned a PhD in 1986. I loved UC Santa Cruz and stayed here as a lecturer, teaching undergraduate interdisciplinary courses in writing and women's studies, as well as summer classes in art and Native American conceptions of nature. I also taught writing workshops for UCSC Anthropology Department grad students for more than three decades.

Now retired from teaching, I spend my time as a researcher, writer, and occasional artist.

In my office – Photo by Kathy Chetkovich

In my office – Photo by Kathy Chetkovich

A UCSC writing class and me at the end of a term

A UCSC writing class and me at the end of a term

After helpiing to plant a peach tree – Photo by Cissy Freeman

After helpiing to plant a peach tree – Photo by Cissy Freeman

In training to raise kids-and-chickens

In training to raise kids-and-chickens