Indigenous Feminism, Knowledge, and Resistance: Dr. Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner to Deliver 2025 Minx Auerbach Lecture
Dr. Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner
March 13, 2025
By Stephanie Godward, Communications and Marketing Director, College of Arts & Sciences
The Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGST) Department invites the campus community and the public to the Annual Minx Auerbach Lecture on Thursday, March 20, at 5:30 p.m. in the Gheens Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium.
This year’s distinguished speaker is Dr. Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner, an Indigenous feminist philosopher whose research bridges Indigenous knowledge systems, cultural reclamation, and feminist coalition-building. The theme of this lecture is entitled, “Indigenous Feminisms and Relational Accountability: Pathways to Justice and Coalition-Building.”
Dr. Meissner is an associate professor in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the founding director of the Indigenous Futures Lab, a pioneering hub for Indigenous feminist research and evaluation.
A proud first-generation descendant of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, Dr. Meissner’s work critically examines power, trauma, caretaking, and Indigenous epistemologies.
“I want the entire campus community to leave the Auerbach Lecture brimming with ideas about how we can develop and sustain ourselves in times of uncertainty,” said Shelby Pumphrey, Assistant Professor in the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Pan-African Studies Departments. “Uncertainty looks different over time, but what we know helps, is community. What we know helps, is resistance. And so, if we can put those two together then we can figure out how we can learn, heal, and grow together as a campus community.”
The Minx Auerbach Lecture annual series highlights thought leaders who challenge and expand conversations on gender, sexuality, and social justice. Dr. Meissner’s talk promises to offer a compelling and necessary perspective on Indigenous feminist interventions in research, education, and activism.
Pumphrey notes that Dr. Meissner explores archival sovereignty, the rematriation of Indigenous archival materials, and land-based coalition building between Indigenous and Black communities. Her research highlights how these collaborations foster sustainable practices in scholarship and activism.
“I genuinely believe these ideas will resonate deeply with students across the university as well as our larger campus community,” Pumphrey said. “Important work like Dr. Meissner's highlights the significance of Indigenous-led scholarship and activism within the contemporary historical moment. Pulling out the beauty and brilliance of Indigenous knowledge, and pointing to how Indigenous people are using these tools to dismantle colonial systems, I think is very interesting to a variety of students across campus as well as faculty members and staff."
WGST Department Chair Dawn Heinecken said the Auerbach Lecture is a unique chance to hear from incredible scholars, artists, and activists whose work speaks directly to the experiences of students and community.
“Thanks to the generosity of the Auerbach family, audiences this year will come away with new insights into Indigenous perspectives on caretaking and trauma, the ethics of knowledge production, and the power of feminist coalition-building, and it’s all in honor of Minx Auerbach, the first female chair of the Board of Trustees at UofL, and a woman who fought to make this city better for everyone—especially women who had been ignored for too long,” Heinecken said.
This free event is open to all and will also be live-streamed for those unable to attend in person:
📅 Thursday, March 20
🕠 5:30 p.m. EDT
📍 Gheens Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium
Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with cutting-edge scholarship that reimagines feminist futures through Indigenous perspectives!
