Meet the Mellon Fellows: Dr. Michelle Night Pipe

Dr. Michelle Night Pipe

Rutgers University
PhD, Anthropology

Host Site: Pipestone National Monument
Fellowship Title: Pipestone Indian School Truth and Education Fellowship
Project Description: Dr. Night Pipe will utilize a newly created digital database of school records to uncover and interpret the history of the Pipestone Indian School, which operated from 1893-1953 as part of a national system designed to tear Native children from their families, communities, and culture. Dr. Night Pipe will work closely with tribal partners to co-create interpretive media that shines light on children’s experiences, the lasting trauma felt by Indigenous people today, and the multi-generational work of healing.

Bio:

Dr. Night Pipe earned her PhD in Anthropology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey after completing her Master's degree in Anthropology at the University of Nebraska. Her research focuses on the potential to reduce stereotyping and prejudice against contemporary Indigenous communities in the US by shining light on atrocities committed against Native American people in the past. For her dissertation research, Dr. Night Pipe conducted ethnographic research with the Sacred Horse Society, an intertribal Oceti Sakowin group based in South Dakota that organizes horseback rides to commemorate the experiences of their grandmothers and grandfathers and to promote healing from intergenerational trauma. Her additional research interests include intergroup bias, social justice, and the boarding school era. Michelle lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with her husband Wayne, their daughters Emma and Livia, and their grandson Emelio. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, playing golf, and walking her dog Coco.

Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

This project was made possible through the National Park Service by a grant from the National Park Foundation through generous support from the Mellon Foundation. The Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship program is administered through a partnership between NPS, NPF, and American Conservation Experience.