Victor is a Sociology concentrator. Victor has worked as an administrative assistant, a student researcher, a workshop facilitator, and a communications and multimedia intern. Looking forward, Victor hopes to learn more about ethical resource generation for Indigenous and queer communities and seeks to dismantle systems of colonial harm and violence. Victor is an avid bullet journalist, movie connoisseur, and poetry reader. He hopes to center community reciprocity as paramount in all his work. As an Undergraduate Program Assistant at NAISI, he acts as a liaison between students, faculty, and staff and assists with events coordination.

Chase Bryer (Chickasaw) is a current Ph.D. student in Behavioral and Social Health Science at the Brown University School of Public Health. He joined NAISI in 2022, and serves as a liaison between NAISI faculty and students, while contributing to various initiatives focused on building a stronger intellectual environment for undergraduate and graduate Native American and Indigenous and NAIS students at Brown. Through his research, he uses community-based participatory methods to create interventions that will improve health outcomes, with a particular focus among Indigenous queer and Two-Spirit communities. His research, ultimately, aims to inform state actors including social workers, public health professionals, and biomedical researchers with ways to more sensitively engage with marginalized communities through resilience-based approaches to disrupt cycles of historical trauma. Chase holds an MSW from Washington University in St. Louis and a BA in Human Rights and Media from the University of Oklahoma.

Dr. Gould joined NAISI in 2019 as Associate Director. Her primary responsibilities include oversight of the developing undergraduate concentration in Native American and Indigenous Studies, programming to support and supplement academic developments, working closely with units across the University engaged in tribal projects, and tribal outreach. She collaborates with centers, departments and offices across the campus, and at other institutions, on academic programming and engagement, in addition to contributing to increased engagement with and support for undergraduate and graduate students. Her research and publishing focus on Southern New England Native American history and culture in the 400 years since European contact, with additional expertise in Indigenous cultural landscapes, federal acknowledgement, NAGPRA and Section 106.

Rae Gould serves as Executive Director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative. As a member of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band of Massachusetts, she has lifelong connections to the tribes and peoples of southern New England. Her research, publications and teaching include: contemporary Native American culture, with a focus on the Northeast; the history and impact of federal laws (NAGPRA, Section 106 and federal acknowledgement); the history, methods and theories of archaeological practice in the U.S.; and place-based and critical heritage studies through the examination of Indigenous homelands as cultural landscapes.

Dr. Gould’s BA from Connecticut College was in Art and Architectural History and Anthropology; she earned her MA and PhD in Anthropology at the University of Connecticut, focusing her research on her tribe’s reservation (the Hassanamisco Reservation) in Grafton, Massachusetts (on the National Register of Historic Places since 2011).

Professional Affiliations

• Native American and Indigenous Studies Association (NAISA)
• Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA)

Student advising appointments can be reserved here.

Cameron Greendeer is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and proud father of five children and a dog named Bruno. He currently resides on Cape Cod, moving to the east coast 13 years ago, and enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, hunting, traveling and learning his culture and traditions.

Cameron earned his bachelor’s degree in Health Studies from Bridgewater State University and has worked extensively with the local tribe of Cape Cod, the Mashpee Wampanoag. His previous work includes guiding tribal students on college and career readiness, along with direct services to assist with their educational goals. Cameron’s advocacy and mentorship work for tribal students has involved parents, teachers, staff, and school committees, and included leading programs for local tribes and communities that benefited representation of tribal students and communities in school systems.

As the newest member of the NAISI staff, Cameron looks forward to connecting with and supporting Native students at Brown, along with becoming a resource for staff and faculty on various topics.

Sophia joined Brown University and NAISI in November of 2022. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree with summa cum laude honors from the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University, where her general areas of study were Africana Studies and Gender Studies. Her interests lie broadly at the intersections of maternal health, Black Feminist praxis, reproductive and birth justice, and community-based birth work. She is also a community-based doula. Sophia has previously worked in a number of administrative support roles, most recently with the NYU Center for the Study of Africa and the African Diaspora. She has done undergraduate interview-based research on the integration and mobilization of the birth justice political framework by Black women doulas in hospital labor and delivery rooms in New York City. In her role at NAISI, she is the point of contact for program coordination, communications and outreach, and administrative needs and works closely with related units across campus.

Jenna Lowry is an undergraduate first year student studying Political Science. As an Undergraduate Program Assistant at NAISI, she acts as a liaison between students, faculty, and staff and assists with events coordination. Jenna is originally from Robeson County, North Carolina where she is a member of the Lumbee Tribe. 

Julia Upton is a recent graduate from the University of South Carolina, she holds a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. Through her involvement in the Ronald McNair internship program, Julia conducted research on implicit bias among educators, specifically focusing on school disciplinary disparities. She is driven by her passion for equity and social justice in education. Her work in multiple undergraduate research labs at the UofSC centered around race and equity services, allowing her to work on projects related to racial redlining and energy vulnerability. Julia's ultimate ambition is to return to the classroom and teach, and later work for the Federal Department of Education, advocating for policies that address educational disparities and ensure equal opportunities for Black, Brown and Indigenous students of color.

Recognizing the importance of a deeper understanding of policy development and implementation, Julia has set her sights on pursuing a Master's degree in Urban Education Policy at Brown University. She believes that her time at Brown will equip her with the knowledge and skills necessary to make a meaningful impact in the field of education. 

At NAISI, Julia provides critical administrative and communications support for NAISI programming.