Natchee Blu Barnd

Natchee Blu Barnd is an Associate Professor and Undergraduate Advisor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), within the College of Letters and Science. He holds a Ph.D. from UC San Diego and has taught at institutions including Oregon State University and San Francisco State University. His research focuses on intersections between ethnic studies, cultural geography, and Indigenous studies, emphasizing race, space, and decolonization.

Dr. Barnd's work explores Indigenous geographies, cartography, and critical pedagogy through publications such as Native Space: Geographic Strategies to Unsettle Settler Colonialism (2017), which won the 2021 AES Outstanding Book Award. He edits the Ethnic Studies Review, develops the Social Justice Tour project, and collaborates with Native Nations like the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. His current projects include analyzing US Ethnic Studies programs and a book on 'race as space.'

Key contributions include interdisciplinary scholarship on environmental racism, settler colonialism, and cultural centers. He actively bridges academia with community-building through pedagogical innovation and public engagement.