Maile Arvin

Dr. Maile Arvin is an Associate Professor of History and Gender Studies at the University of Utah, and the founding director of the Center for Pasifika Indigenous Knowledges. She specializes in histories of race, Pacific studies, gender history, and Indigenous methodologies. Her work critically examines settler colonialism, scientific racism, and Indigenous sovereignty, particularly in Hawaiʻi and Oceania.

Arvin holds a BA in English from Swarthmore College, and an MA and PhD in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, San Diego. She is fluent in Hawaiian, reading, writing, and speaking the language.

Her research includes the Nā Lei Poina ʻOle project, a community-engaged history initiative addressing reformatories and industrial schools in Hawaiʻi, supported by NEH and ACLS grants. She has authored Possessing Polynesians: The Science of Settler Colonial Whiteness and contributes to decolonizing frameworks in Pacific Studies.

Arvin’s academic leadership includes directing the University of Utah’s Pacific Islands Studies and Gender Studies programs. Her work bridges Indigenous data sovereignty, youth studies, and feminist critiques of colonial systems.