Current Student Profiles

Ramey Growing Thunder, DIS Student
Sandra Su’sana Ashley (Redpath), MIS Student
A descendant of the Saponi and Shawnee Nations, I graduated from California State University, Sacramento, in the 1980s with Bachelors of Arts degrees in Native American Studies, and Journalism. Since that time, I have been the editor of the Tacoma Indian News, the director of Indian Education of a southern Tacoma school district, and have been working independently on Indian Education curriculum materials. I have also visited over sixty schools, K-12, in both Washington and Montana, to bring Indian Education to the classroom. Presently, I am working on my Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Montana, combining courses from the Native American Studies department, Curriculum and Instruction from the Education department, and additional courses on Indian Law, Native linguistics, and traditional knowledge. In advancing the writing and teaching the true Native American history, my goal is to show the necessity of multicultural education, the need to incorporate traditional knowledge in all areas of study, and to utilize these tools to positively impact Native communities today. By providing an accurate historical representation, cultural activities, and a means to reconnect to the environmental knowledge about Mother Nature, Native youth can find hope in applying tribal perspectives so that a new generation of Native people will be able to overcome intergenerational trauma and pass on their unique ways of knowing and doing to the next generation.
Ranalda Tsosie, Ph.D. Student
Doctoral student Ranalda Tsosie came to the University of Montana with the goal of making a difference in her community. After earning her Ph.D. in May, we have no doubt she will.
MA-MS Interdisciplinary Studies
Sandra Ashley
Melea Burke
Brittany Galvin
Maura Ganz
Josh Rosenau
Antonio Torres
DIS Students
Tim Anderson
Katherine Christison
Rebecca Durham
Brittany Garner
Ramey Growingthunder
Anna Marbut
Alan Okagaki
Peter Phillips
Scott Robinson
Joe Sol
Cassie Williamson