Dr. Kishan Lara-Cooper
Co-Editor
Chapter 2: “More than a Boat”: Bias, Institutional Frameworks, and Testimonial Injustice
Chapter 9: Across the Lagoon: The Inspiration behind the Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association (NICPA)
Chapter 13: Fish Wars on the Klamath River
Dr. Kishan Lara-Cooper (Yurok/Hupa/Karuk) is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Child Development at Humboldt State University where she teaches courses in child development, language development, history, social and cultural considerations, and instructional practices in American Indian education. She earned her Doctor of Education degree from Arizona State University in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Indian Education and a specialization in language revitalization, community-based education, and culturally-based pedagogy, her Master of Arts degree in Linguistics from the University of Arizona, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Native American Studies from Humboldt State University. She has a vested interest and dedication to the preservation of language, culture, and ceremony. She is actively involved in the revitalization of the flower dance (a women’s rite of passage ceremony) and the jump dance (a ceremony for the continuance of humankind) on the Nererner coast. She cherishes her relationships with elders, the community, the natural environment, and the spiritual elements of the world. As a professional, she understands the impact of language, culture, and ceremony on healing, identity, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. She is an advocate of shifting the paradigm of education and institutional frameworks.