Mural installation by Colectivo Cherani at the Hammer Museum. Westwood, Los Angeles. Photo: Adelaida E. Rama Luna

Research

My research examines how Indigenous communities sustain, negotiate and (re)imagine collective life across borders. Situated at the intersection of Indigenous studies, migration studies, and media studies, my work explores the relationship between Indigenous media, migration, community, and cultural continuity.

My dissertation examines how P’urhépecha (im)migrants in the United States use digital media to sustain and (re)imagine communal ties and practices. Through ethnographic research and media analysis, I explore how community members use digital platforms to circulate P’urhépecha language and epistemologies, participate in community life, organize cultural events, and maintain relationships with their communities of origin. I am particularly interested in how these practices create spaces where community, territory, belonging, and Indigenous identity are negotiated across borders.

Beyond my dissertation, my research considers how Indigenous communities use media to envision and enact possible futures. I am interested in Indigenous approaches to digital media that move beyond questions of representation to consider media as a space for community building, cultural revitalization, knowledge transmission, and Indigenous futurity. My broader research interests include: Indigenous media and communication, migration, digital cultures, P’urhépecha studies, community and territory, and Indigenous futurity.