Meredith McCoy

Meredith McCoy is an Assistant Professor of American Studies and History at Carleton College since 2019. A Turtle Mountain Ojibwe descendant with her father David McCoy as an enrolled citizen, she specializes in Indigenous education histories, anticolonial praxis, and the repurposing of settler colonial tools for Indigenous well-being. Her affiliations include the Tribal Nations Research Group, American Studies Association, Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, and National Council for the Social Studies.

• Education: BA from Lipscomb University, PhD from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Her research examines how Indigenous families and educators have transformed educational systems into tools for cultural survival. Current projects include the Indigenous Chicago Project and the Elder in Residence program at Carleton. She co-authored the Teaching Hard History: American Slavery frameworks for K-12 education and advises on public health categorization policies.

Recent publications focus on educational funding disparities, boarding school histories, and anticolonial curriculum design. Awards include the Whiting Public Engagement Fellowship (2022), American Philosophical Society Phillips Fund for Native American Research (2022), and multiple Mellon Foundation grants for Indigenous community engagement initiatives.

• Key teaching areas: Indigenous Histories (Time Immemorial to 1887 and 1887-Present), Ethics of Indigenous Engagement, Contemporary Indigenous Activism
• Community projects: Indigenous Chicago Project, Elder Advisory Board, Land-Grab Universities analysis