Welcome

Boozhoo/hello! My name is Niiyokamigaabaw Deondre Smiles. Niiyokamigaabaw translates to “Stands on Four Earths” in my people’s language, Ojibwemowin.

My pronouns are he/them, and my Ojibwemowin pronoun is wiin. I am of Ojibwe, Black, and Swedish descent and am a citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. I am an Indigenous geographer whose research interests include Indigenous geographies and epistemologies, science and technology studies, and tribal cultural resource preservation and protection.

I am an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies in the School of Humanities at Bemidji State University. I have held faculty and research roles at several other institutions across North America, including the University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, The Ohio State University, and the University of Victoria.

I received my bachelor’s degree in Geography (2013) from Saint Cloud State University, a master’s degree in Global Indigenous Studies (2016) from the University of Minnesota Duluth, and a Ph.D. in Geography (2020) from Ohio State University, where I also spent a year (2020–21) as a President’s Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of History.

I serve as director of the Geographies of Indigenous Futures Collaboratory, a research group focused on Indigenous geographic methods and collaborations with Indigenous communities. I also hold affiliations with the EGESTA Lab (University of British Columbia), the Technoscience Research Unit (University of Toronto), and the Rising Voices, Changing Coasts Hub (UCAR/Haskell Indian Nations University).

Beyond my research, I serve on the editorial board of the Network in Canadian History and Environment (NiCHE), and sit on the board of the Central Regional Sustainable Development Partnership of the University of Minnesota Extension. I am also proud to serve my own tribal nation as a member of the Board of Trustees at Leech Lake Tribal College.

This website is a place to learn more about me, my academic background, and my current projects. Welcome again — and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.