Maria John
استادیار · Comparative histories of settler colonialism
University of Massachusetts Bostonمعرفی
Maria John serves as Assistant Professor of History and Director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) Program within the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She joined UMass Boston in 2017 after completing an Indigenous Studies Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at Wesleyan University.
Her academic credentials include a PhD and MA/MPhil in History from Columbia University, and an MA and BA (History/Politics) from Monash University in Australia.
Professor John specializes in comparative settler colonial histories with emphasis on 20th-century urban Indigenous communities in the U.S. and Australia. Her work critically examines health activism as a framework for Indigenous sovereignty, analyzing community-controlled health clinics as sites resisting colonial non-recognition. Key themes include bodily health as political expression, self-determination beyond territorial claims, and decolonizing historical methodologies.
Her publications consistently explore intersections of Indigenous sovereignty, health activism, and urbanization across both nations, particularly between 1950-2000. Recurring analytical frameworks include settler colonial policy impacts, community resistance strategies, and the role of health infrastructure in sovereignty realization.
Her scientific awards include:
- Indigenous Studies Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship
Professor John has secured major research funding from the Mellon Foundation, American Philosophical Society Philips Fund for Native American Research, Teagle Foundation for Liberal Arts Education, National Library of Australia, and New York City Anti-Discrimination Center. She actively develops K-12 curriculum through the NYC Stands with Standing Rock Collective and South El Monte Arts Posse's East of East project.
She collaborates with the NYC Stands with Standing Rock Collective for digital activism and the East of East project team to integrate ethnic studies into Southern California schools, focusing on Indigenous historical perspectives in public education.
