Dina Gilio-Whitaker will visit the OCU campus on Tuesday, September 17 as the 2024 Martha Jean Lemon Distinguished Speaker. A student event will be held at 1:00 p.m. and a public talk will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the Petree Recital Hall. 

Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes) is a lecturer of American Indian Studies at California State University San Marcos and independent educator/advisor on Indigenous environmental issues. She is a sought-after speaker and has addressed and advised a wide array of academic disciplines and organizations in the realms of conservation, law, science, government, outdoor sports, and more. As a freelance journalist, her work has appeared in Indian Country Today, Los Angeles Times, High Country News, Sierra Magazine, Time.com, Slate, History.com, Bioneers, Truthout, the Pacifica Network, Grist, CSPAN Booktalk, The Boston Globe, and many more. She has won numerous awards for her writing, including awards from the Native American Journalists Association. Her research interests focus on Indigenous nationalism, self-determination, environmental justice, and education. For several years she was involved with Indigenous peoples’ participation in the United Nations arena. 

In 2016 Dina published her first book along with coauthor Roxanne Dunbar-Ortez, “All the Real Indians Died Off” and 20 Other Myths About Native Americans. Her most recent book is the critically acclaimed and award-winning As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice from Colonization to Standing Rock. As Long as Grass Grows will be the focus of her public talk on September 17. 

Visit Gilio-Whitaker - Authors Unbound to learn more about Ms. Gilio-Whitaker and her work.