Anna Willow

Anna Willow is a Professor of Environmental Anthropology at The Ohio State University, specializing in human-environment relationships within contexts of anthropogenic environmental transformation. Her research focuses on Indigenous resistance to resource extraction, environmental justice, and the intersection of political ecology with globalization. She has conducted fieldwork among Anishinaabe communities in Ontario, Ohio shale gas development communities, and British Columbia residents facing multi-sector resource development.

Her academic contributions include three authored/edited books: Understanding ExtrACTIVISM (2018), ExtrACTION: Impacts, Engagements, and Alternative Futures (2017), and Strong Hearts, Native Lands (2012). Her work bridges ethnography with policy analysis, emphasizing Indigenous sovereignty and grassroots activism.

Dr. Willow’s recent research explores climate change response through futurity studies, decolonizing methodologies, and optimistic frameworks for sustainability transitions. She advises two graduate students and maintains affiliations with environmental justice networks. Her scholarship consistently addresses the ethical responsibilities of anthropologists in contemporary environmental crises.