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Jennifer Meness

Dr. Jennifer Meness

Assistant Professor
EducationBA (Northern Illinois University); AAA (Milwaukee Area Technical College); MA (Marquette University); PhD (York University)
Areas of ExpertiseAnishinaabe World View, Anishinaabe/Indigenous Research Methodology, Performance and Dance Studies, Manito Acts of Transfer, Powwow Dance and Embodied Cultural Knowledge, Material and Visual Culture, Anishinaabemowin Linguistic Relativity

Biography: 

Jennifer Meness (Waabishkaa Migizi, White Eagle) is Eagle Clan (Migizi Dodem) from the Algonquins of Pikwàkànàgan First Nation. Grounded in Anishinaabe World View, her re-search explores Manito (Spirit) relationships, embodiment, and transformative experiences as shared through stories from powwow participants. Stories contributed by the Indigenous community continue to exemplify the experience of powwow as a site of spiritual connection, cultural resurgence, and identity reclamation. Jennifer applies Ancestral Knowledge and ceremony to western theoretical perspectives in the fields of performance and dance studies, communication, anthropology, linguistics, and material culture.  As an academic and Knowledge Keeper, Jennifer walks in both western and Anishinaabe worlds.

Selected publications: 

Resistance and Resilience in Modern Powwow (Book Chapter)
Our Stories: First Peoples in Canada, Indigenous Studies etextbook for Centennial College, Ontario 2018

Smoke Signals as Equipment for Living
American Indians and the Mass Media, University of Oklahoma Press, 2012