Andrea Smith (academic) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andrea Smith
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Andrea Smith in 2011
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San Francisco, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Harvard University (BA) Union Theological Seminary (MDiv) University of California, Santa Cruz (PhD) University of California Irvine School of Law |
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Andrea Lee Smith is an American academic and activist. She is known for her work on stopping violence against women of color, especially Native American women. She has taught at the University of Michigan and is now a professor at the University of California, Riverside.
Andrea Smith also helped start important groups. These include INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence and the Boarding School Healing Project. She also helped create the Chicago chapter of Women of All Red Nations.
Since 1991, Andrea Smith has said she is Cherokee. However, she is not officially registered with any Cherokee tribe. Some people, including Native American scholars, have questioned her claims about her heritage. In 2023, her university announced she would leave her job in 2024. This was due to questions about her claims of Native American identity.
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Andrea Smith's Early Life and Education
Andrea Smith was born in San Francisco, California. She grew up in Southern California with her sister. Her family mainly came from British and Scandinavian backgrounds. They had stories about a possible distant Native American ancestor.
Her College Journey
Andrea Smith went to Harvard University. There, she earned her bachelor's degree in Comparative Study of Religion. Later, she got her Master of Divinity degree in 1997 from the Union Theological Seminary. In 2002, she earned her Ph.D. from UC Santa Cruz. Her studies focused on how the Bible, gender, and nationalism affected Native American communities and Christian activists.
Andrea Smith's Activism and Work
Andrea Smith has been a strong voice for change. She has worked to help communities and end violence.
Fighting Violence Against Women
In 2000, Andrea Smith co-founded INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence. She started this group with Nadine Naber. INCITE! is a national organization that works to stop violence against women of color. They also aim to end violence in their communities.
Healing from Boarding Schools
Smith was also a founding member of the Boarding School Healing Project (BSHP). This project works to record the abuses that happened in Native American boarding schools. Its goal is to help Native communities heal and seek justice.
Working for Global Justice
In 1991, she represented Native American women's groups at a United Nations conference. This conference was about fighting racism. In 2005, Andrea Smith was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. This was for her research and work against violence toward women of color in the U.S. She also serves as the U.S. Coordinator for a group of theologians from around the world.
Andrea Smith's Ideas and Writings
Andrea Smith's work often explores difficult topics. She writes about violence and unfairness, especially for Native women.
Understanding Violence Against Native Women
Her writings focus on how violence affects Native women. She talks about how certain systems can harm and try to erase Native women. Smith believes it's important to understand these issues.
Challenging Common Ideas
Smith also challenges some ideas in Native American studies. She argues that even if certain problems didn't start in Native societies, they still affect Native people deeply. She emphasizes that these issues, like violence, should not be ignored.
Awards
- California State University (Northridge) Phenomenal Woman Award (2010)
Selected Publications
Andrea Smith has written several books:
- Sacred Sites, Sacred Rites (1998) ISBN B0006R030E
- Native Americans and the Christian Right: The Gendered Politics of Unlikely Alliances (2008) ISBN: 978-0-8223-4163-5
- Unreconciled: From Racial Reconciliation to Racial Justice in Christian Evangelicalism, Duke University Press (2019) ISBN: 978-1-4780-0640-4
She has also edited or co-edited several collections of writings:
- The Color of Violence: The INCITE! Anthology (2006) ISBN: 978-0-89608-762-0
- The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex (2007) ISBN: 978-0-89608-766-8
- Theorizing Native Studies, Duke University Press (2014) ISBN: 978-0-8223-5679-0
- Native Studies Keywords, University of Arizona Press (2015) ISBN: 978-0-8165-3150-9
- Evangelical Theologies of Liberation and Justice, InterVarsity Press (2019) ISBN: 978-0-8308-5246-8
- Otherwise Worlds, Duke University Press (2020) ISBN: 978-1-4780-0838-5
See Also
- Pretendian
