Hamilton magazine asked Burke about her background, what brought her to Central New York, and what she hopes to accomplish while here. (Responses edited due to space.)

What initially sparked your interest in Native American and Indigenous studies?

When I was born, my parents were living with an Omaha family and had been for some time. As a kid, I was raised by that family — particularly my grandmother — while my parents worked. I went to dances and ceremonies and was raised in an American Indian church, which gave me a completely different worldview and background from so many other kids. Throughout college and graduate school, advisors and professors encouraged me to pursue studying Native and Indigenous peoples because of this background, and I came to see that I am a good translator, can be a good advocate, for American Indian peoples. I also feel a duty to the community that raised me and the tremendous gifts they gave me, and I try to honor them in the work that I do.

Was there a moment or experience that prompted you to pursue this field in tandem with environmental studies?

I have always been interested in environmental issues. I was raised with a traditional worldview where the world operates according to different principles than most Americans are raised to understand — everything is alive and sentient and therefore has rights, and I’m just one piece of a great big puzzle. There isn’t a special quality that makes humans more special than or ascendant to any other species. I became interested in environmental justice in particular when I realized that the people who raised me did not have access to their sacred places. Their sacred place was behind a fence in the nearby farmer’s field, and they had to ask permission to go there. The river that ran through their lands was dammed, and they did not get any proceeds from the electricity it generated. I learned very early that access to place, “resources,” and rights were not equally distributed — that racism and inequality dictate how these things are distributed. 

What aspects of this position piqued your curiosity?

I wanted to grow professionally and work in service of a community. I’ve always been a community builder, so being able to do that here on campus and with local communities interested me right away. Hamilton is on land that traditionally belonged to the Oneida Nation, and it began as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy; the relationships at the foundation of this institution should be honored and healthy.

Since I am a Fellow here, teaching is just one component of my job. I am also building connections between the many faculty teaching Native and Indigenous studies on campus, co-teaching Native and Indigenous studies content in any course that will have me, and creating campus-wide programming to bring Native and Indigenous speakers, artists, and activists to campus to work with students.

Why is it important for academia and society as a whole to engage with and understand Native American and Indigenous perspectives?

I trace climate change back to colony and empire, that set of ideologies and the vast reordering of ecologies that happened as a result. If we’re going to meet this crisis with any kind of understanding, we have to trace it back to its roots and invite all voices to the table. As a country, we have not done that. In particular, we are going to need Indigenous nations and their leadership. To give one small example: In the United States, American Indian reservations are the most biodiverse pockets of our country. When we’re thinking about species, extinction, and conservation, we are going to have to rely on the friendship of those nations to help us heal this land and rebuild biodiversity.