Kathleen C. Whiteley

Kathleen C. Whiteley is an Assistant Professor and Designated Emphasis Chair in the Department of Native American Studies at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on Native American history in California, emphasizing social, legal, and gendered dimensions of Indigenous activism. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan’s Department of American Culture and has held prestigious fellowships, including a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Berkeley and a Visiting Fellowship at Harvard University.

• Education: Ph.D. (American Culture, University of Michigan), M.A. (American Culture, University of Michigan), B.A. (Native American Studies, UC Berkeley)

Her current book manuscript, Justice in the Balance, examines land claims cases by California Indigenous peoples against the U.S. government. She co-produced the short film Tuluwat Reclaimed, documenting intergenerational activism to reclaim ancestral lands. Her research bridges legal history, environmental justice, and Indigenous sovereignty.

Awards include the UC Davis Hellman Fellowship (2024-25) and UC Humanities Research Institute funding (2023). She serves as Faculty Liaison to the Newberry Consortium in American Indian Studies and advises the Designated Emphasis program at UC Davis. Her courses cover Native American ethnohistory and public scholarship.