Rosalyn LaPier, Blackfeet Tribe of Montana and Métis, is an award-winning Indigenous writer, ethnobotanist, and environmental activist with a BA in physics and a PhD in environmental history. She works within Indigenous communities to revitalize Indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), to address environmental justice and the climate crisis, and to strengthen public policy for Indigenous languages. LaPier is currently an associate professor of environmental studies at the University of Montana and a research associate at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.

Beyond setting up a conducive physical workspace, how do you prepare to effectively work remotely? 

For many Indigenous scientists and scholars, especially those who work within rural communities, “working remotely” has been something we have been doing for years. I split my time between living in the heart of Salish country in Missoula, Mont., and the Blackfeet Reservation, along the Montana and Canadian border. I know where every cell tower and dead zone is from here to there and back again. Many Indigenous scientists and scholars have developed strategies to work effectively no matter where we are — and they center on good information technology, gadgets, and electricity. 

But I am also an Indigenous environmentalist, so working remotely also means being environmentally friendly. This is what I want to address in today’s Q&A.

READ MORE