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I am the author of two books, Where Next, Columbus?: A Native Punk Mixtape, published through the New Directions in Native American Studies series, at University of Oklahoma Press, and The Great Land: An Indigenous History of Alaska, published through the Indigenous Confluences series, at University of Washington Press. I was born and raised in Kodiak, Alaska, and graduated from S.A.V.E. II high school in Anchorage at an untraditional age. In my mid-twenties, after moving down to the lower 48, I began taking courses at a community college. Later, I earned a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. An original shareholder in both Koniag and Leisnoi, organizations formed through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, I am also enrolled in the federally recognized Tangirnaq Native Village. I proudly serve the Alutiiq people on the board of the Koniag Education Foundation, helping support the educational goals of Koniag shareholders and their descendants. A lifelong writer, artist, and musician, I continue to draw from my creative roots in my scholarship. I spend holidays with my family in Bogotá and Colombia's Eje Cafetero. Punk saved my life.