Cogut Institute for the Humanities

Tarisa Little (she/her) is Mellon Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of History and the Cogut Institute for the Humanities. She is a historian of Indigenous education, Settler colonialism, and historical memory. As a Settler scholar, she is committed to ethical, community-centered research that foregrounds Indigenous sovereignty and knowledge systems. Her work spans the disciplines of history, Indigenous studies, and education, with a focus on how Indigenous nations have used schooling as a tool for cultural survival and self-determination. Her current book project, “Scholars of Aataentsic: Wyandot Education Strategies,” traces the Wyandot Confederacy’s use of schooling from the 17th to the early 20th centuries. Drawing on extensive community archival and family history research conducted in collaboration with the Wyandot of Anderdon Nation, the book challenges dominant narratives of assimilation by highlighting Indigenous-led models of education and intellectual continuity. Little has published in American Indian Quarterly, Women and Social Movements in Modern Empires, and Active History, and is co-editor of the forthcoming volume tentatively titled Reclaiming the Chalkboard: Indigenous Education Reimagined. Her current research includes collaborative work on Wyandot witchcraft histories. Across all her work, she centers relational accountability, methodological integrity, and the transformative power of Indigenous education.