Jeremy Garcia, (Hopi/Tewa) is Associate Professor of Indigenous Education in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies in the College of Education at the University of Arizona. He is of the Hospoawungwa (Roadrunner) clan. Prior to joining UArizona, he was an Assistant Professor in the School of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction and an Endowed Professor of the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). He is co-founding Director of the Indigenous Teacher Education Program (ITEP) at the University of Arizona.
His research focuses on decolonization, critical Indigenous curriculum and pedagogy, Indigenous teacher education, and critical and culturally sustaining family and community engagement. His research supports Indigenous educators with the development of critical Indigenous curriculum and pedagogy that is grounded in Indigenous knowledge and values systems. This includes work with the Hopi Kuuyi (Water) Curriculum (Black Mesa Trust) and the Hopi Natwani (traditional farming) curriculum (The Natwani Coalition) in Arizona. Currently he is working with Hopi educators and the Hopi Cultural Preservations Office to create curriculum affiliated with the Moquis and Kastiilam: Hopis, Spaniards, and the trauma of history Volumes I & II. His recent publication includes a co-edited book, Indigenizing Education: Transformative Research, Theories, and Praxis (2022).
He has experience as an elementary school teacher and parent engagement coordinator on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation in Arizona. He received his undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University, his M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from Michigan State University, and his Ph.D. in Curriculum Studies from Purdue University. While at Purdue University, he held a vital role in the development of the first Native American Educational and Cultural Center.
