Judy Fisher

2023 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grantee

Hometown

Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma

Major

American Studies

College

The Graduate School; College of Liberal Arts

 

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides post-baccalaureate funding for 8-12 months for individuals to study, research, or teach abroad while promoting cultural exchange and mutual understanding.

With an Open Study/Research Award in Germany, Judy Fisher will delve into archives, museums, and cultural tourist sites to understand connections between representations of “Africans” and “Indians,” two groups that are not often considered together. Examining the fascination with all things Indian alongside perceptions of Africans from Germany’s colonial past, Judy seeks to build a foundation for considering colonial legacies, further reconciliation efforts, and build global solidarity among Indigenous peoples. Judy, a Choctaw student, has high expectations for her own engagement in society when it comes to representing Native Americans. For this reason, she will offer her time to the Native American Association of Germany, by contributing to its mission of educating the public.

Judy seeks to gather this data for her dissertation as well as to travel far with the long-term goal of benefitting tribal education and Native students in the future. “Understanding how I influence and am influenced by other people, places, and cultures,” she says, “is central to how I think Native students’ lives could be improved by the resources made available in higher education.