Faculty of American Indian and Indigenous Studies
The expertise of American Indian and Indigenous Studies (AIIS) faculty spans multiple fields, including anthropology, archaeology, art, art history, fiber science, history, literature, law, and natural resources, enabling students to develop programs that address their specific interests. Faculty with specific research expertise in Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) studies and Indigenous issues globally further broaden opportunities for academic discovery.
Meet Our Staff in the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP).
Explore the American Indian and Indigenous Studies course catalog.
Declare your American Indian and Indigenous Studies Minor.
Program Faculty

Associate Professor, American Indian & Indigenous Studies Program
Program Director, American Indian & Indigenous Studies Program

Ernest I. White Professor of American Studies and Humane Letters
Director of Graduate Studies, American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program

Associate Professor, The History of Art and Visual Studies
Professors Jolene Rickard and Jodi Byrd Recognized on List of Top 35 Influential American Indian Scholars
To celebrate Native American Heritage Month 2021, AcademicInfluence.com focuses on 35 scholars from Indigenous people groups in North America who have had a profound influence on academia, literature, history, the arts, science, politics, activism, and more: AcademicInfluence.com 2021 Influential American Indian Scholars.
Congratulations Professors Jolene Rickard (Ska:rù:rę'/Tuscarora) and Jodi Byrd (Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma)!




AIISP Faculty at Indigenous Convocation 2024. From left to right: Jonathan Butcher, Troy Richardson, Kurt Jordan, Steven Johnson, Michael Charles, Eric Cheyfitz. Photograph by Zoë Van Nostrand.
Professor Karim-Aly Kassam speaking at American University of Central Asia on December 16, 2022.
Professor Michael Charles (Diné/Navajo) (Left) at the NALSA Tribal Summit panel, Spring 2023.
Stephen Henhawk (Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ/Cayuga) teaching a Cayuga Language I course.
Teaching Faculty
Affiliate Faculty

Cornell Provost’s New Faculty Fellow and Incoming Assistant Professor, Biological and Environmental Engineering

Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics

Research Associate, Department of Linguistics and American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program

Provost’s Faculty Postdoctoral Fellow (incoming Assistant Professor, fall 2023), Natural Resources and the Environment
Retired Faculty

Senior Lecturer and Curator of the Anthropology Collections
Past Faculty in Native American/American Indian and Indigenous Studies
Dr. Richard Metcalf
Dr. Chuck Geisler
Dr. Milton Barnett
Dr. Kathryn Shanley (Enrolled Nakoda)
Dr. Billie Jean Isbell
In Memoriam

In Memoriam | Billie Jean Isbell | 1937-2021

In Memoriam | Carol Warrior | 1962 - 2018
Ninilchik Village Tribe and of Alutiiq (Sugpiaq), Dena’ina Athabascan and A’aniiih (Gros Ventre) descent.
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