Melinda M. Adams
- Langston Hughes Assistant Professor in Indigenous Studies and Geography & Atmospheric Science
Contact Info
1460 Jayhawk Blvd.
1251 Wescoe Dr.
1251 Wescoe Dr.
Personal Links
Biography —
Dr. Melinda Adams is a member of the N’dee San Carlos Apache Tribe and is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Atmospheric Science and the Indigenous Studies Program at the University of Kansas. A cultural fire practitioner and scholar, her research focuses on the revitalization of cultural fire (prescribed fire led with Traditional Ecological Knowledge) with Tribes in California and, more recently, with Tribes in the Midwest. Her work with Indigenous communities lives at the nexus of environmental science (physical geography), environmental policy and Indigenous studies methodologies. Dr. Adams holds her bachelor of science from Haskell Indian Nations University (one of 37 Tribal Colleges located in the U.S.), her master of science from Purdue University and PhD. from the University of California, Davis.
Research —
Research interests:
- Pyrogeography
- Biogeography
- Climate change
- Indigenous science
- Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
- Indigenous methodologies
Selected Publications —
Adams, M.M. 2023. Indigenous Ecologies: Cultivating Fire, Plants, and Climate Futurity. Artemisia 49(2):20-29. https://www.cnps.org/publications/scientific-journal
Fisk, J. J., K. M. Leong, R. E. W. Berl, J. W. Long, A. C. Landon, M. M. Adams, D. L. Hankins, C. K. Williams, F. K. Lake, and J. Salerno. 2024. Evolving wildlife management cultures of governance through Indigenous Knowledges and perspectives. Journal of Wildlife Management 8(4)1-25. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22584.
Tom, E., M. M. Adams, and R.W. Goode. 2023. “Solastalgia to Soliphilia: Cultural Fire, Climate Change, and Indigenous Healing”. Journal of Ecopsychology. 15(4): 322-330. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2022.0085
Adams, M.M., N.C. Emery, S.J. Brouder, T.J. Benjamin, and K.D. Gibson. 2013. The Effect of Biochar on Native and Invasive Prairie Plant Species. Invasive Plant Science and Management. 6(2):197-207. https://doi.org/10.1614/IPSM-D-12-00058.1
Grants & Other Funded Activity —
2024. Principal Investigator. National Science Foundation. Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR). Indigenous Cultural Burns and Research in Resiliency with Tribes.
2024. Principal Investigator. University of Kansas Office of Research New Faculty Research Development Grant. Building Tribal Partnerships for Indigenous-led Cultural Fire Research in Kansas.
2023. Co-Principal Investigator. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Sub-award from National Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership. With Johnson, J.T., Sutley, E., Cartwright. P. and Brewer, J.
2023. Co-Principal Investigator. National Science Foundation (NSF) Planning Proposals to Catalyze Innovative and Inclusive Wildland Fire Science through Diverse Collaborations. High-Spatiotemporal Resolution Sensing and Digital Twin to Advance Wildland Fire Science With Chao, H., Xin, M, and Hu, X.