Heather Sauyaq Jean Kwamboka Gordon, PhD
Paġlagivsi!!! (Welcome, in Iñupiatun)
I am passionate about increasing resources and opportunities for/to Indigenous Tribes, communities, families, and children. Our histories of colonization have taken so much from us. I seek to do research and evaluation projects that help develop policy to increase funding for Indigenous Peoples to support our cultures and languages that colonial governments have spent millions on to suppress and erase. I advocate for Indigenous led project work grounded in culture and Indigenous Knowledge.
I am a:
Owner and principle consultant of my company: Sauyaq Solutions LLC with the mission of Kamagigikput Sivulliavut: "We honor our ancestors" doing work on research, evaluation, technical assistance, grant writing, relationship building, cultural training, Indigenous methodologies, futures visioning, and public speaking
Visit my consulting website here!
I am a Native Children's Research Exchange Cohort 11 Scholar (2022-24), see my bio and learn more here
Committee member on the National Academy of Sciences Co-Production of Environmental Knowledge, Methods, and Approaches study (2023-25)
I am Board Member for the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (2023-25), see my bio and learn more here
I am an adjunct faculty in the American University Measurement and Evaluation Graduate Program, see my bio and learn more about the program
My work looks at Indigenous culture as a protective factor from colonization and historical trauma, missing and murdered Indigenous relatives, how to work with Indigenous Peoples in research, environmental justice, sustainability science, futures research, climate change, food security, and subsistence rights in Alaska.
I also work with any type of organization and give talks/presentations/keynotes, mentoring, as well as workshops on relationship building with Indigenous populations and futures visioning through my consulting organization.
If you are interested in the Indigenous Resources I have compiled, Indigenous scholarships/fellowships, Indigenous organizations, Indigenous Tribal/community/non profit grants/funding, or Indigenous jobs, please check out those pages. Also, you can meet Indigenous scholars too!
About Me
My name is Heather Sauyaq Jean Kwamboka Gordon, PhD.
I am Iñupiaq (Alaska Native-Inuit) and an enrolled member of the Nome Eskimo Community (a federally recognized Tribe). My Iñupiaq name is Sauyaq which means drum. I was gifted this name by my grandmother who named me after her younger sister who had passed. I work to be a good relative and advocate for Indigenous people, beating the drum to lift up our voices. I love this description of my name: "The first thing we do when we all get together is sing… the Sauyaq brings us all together.’ The Sauyaq or Drum is used at all gatherings and ceremonies. In some Inupiaq dialects the word for ‘skin’ of the drum also means ‘future eye’ relating to the ‘eye of awareness’." From Visitors’ guide, Alaska Native Heritage Center
I married into a Kenyan Kisii Tribal family and was gifted the name Kwamboka which means crossing a bridge. I was gifted this name my second visit to Kenya when I was able to move between my own and the Kisii culture.
Positions:
Owner and principle consultant of my company: Sauyaq Solutions LLC with the mission of Kamagigikput Sivulliavut: "We honor our ancestors" doing work on research, evaluation, technical assistance, grant writing, relationship building, cultural training, Indigenous methodologies, futures visioning, and public speaking
I am a Native Children's Research Exchange Cohort 11 Scholar (2022-24), see my bio and learn more here
Committee member on the National Academy of Sciences Co-Production of Environmental Knowledge, Methods, and Approaches study (2023-25)
I am Board Member for the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (2023-25), see my bio and learn more here
I am an adjunct faculty in the American University Measurement and Evaluation Graduate Program, see my bio and learn more about the program
I have a B.A. in Race and Ethnic Studies, a M.S. in Sociology and Community and Environmental Sociology, and a PhD in Indigenous Studies with a concentration in Indigenous Sustainability. Heather came to Child Trends from the Division of Program Evaluation and Planning at the Administration for Native Americans, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). While at ANA she served also served as a subject matter expert on working with Indigenous people and in that capacity advised the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) on their work around missing and murdered Native Americans, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) on methodologies appropriate to working with Indigenous people and other vulnerable and minority populations, Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) on drafting the Arctic Research Plan (ARP) 2022-2026, and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on documents and work around Indigenous Knowledge
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