Dinner Meetings

"The Evolving Indian Policy of Brigham Young and Utah’s Often Stormy Mormon-Indian Relations"

 Dr. Sondra Jones

Dr. Sondra G. Jones received her doctorate and master’s degrees from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, respectively, with a focus on American History and Native American studies. She taught as an adjunct instructor (at various times and by choice) at the University of Utah, Utah Valley University, and Brigham Young University between 1998 and 2023. Her classes included World History, American History, Utah History, and Native American History, as well as various writing classes. She has written, presented, and published scholarly works focused on the Ute Indians, Mormon-Indian relations, the Indian slave trade, the Spanish Trail, and western folklore. 

Her appreciation for Native people was enhanced through archaeological digs and ethnographic fieldwork, as well as by her eight years on the Navajo reservation and by her marriage to an “Urban” Native American. By necessity, her academic and professional work has been woven into raising their ten children and instilling in them a love of learning as well.