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Curator, Scholar, and Educator
Dr. Meranda Roberts (Yerington Paiute Tribe and Chicana) is a curator, scholar, and educator working at the intersection of Indigenous history, museum studies, and visual culture. Guided by Indigenous methodologies, anti-colonial pedagogy, and Indigenous feminist theory, she challenges colonial narratives and reimagines how museums account for their collections. Her work is shaped by her obligations to elders, family, and community. She holds a Ph.D. in History and an M.A. in Public History from UC Riverside. She served as Visiting Professor in the Art History Department at Pomona College (2023–2025), teaching courses on Native American art and Native American women artists, and as Native Scholar in Residence at Pitzer College (2024). She serves on the Scholarly Advisory Committee for the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum and on the Autry Public History Prize committee for the Western History Association.
Her curatorial work includes the Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories renovation at the Field Museum, where she served as co-curator; Continuity: Cahuilla Basket Weavers and Their Legacies at Pomona College (2024); and Eternal Testament at The Church in Sag Harbor, New York, named by Hyperallergic among the world's best 2025 art events. Most recently, she curated Constellations of Place at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. In 2024, she led a NAGPRA assessment of the Oak Native American Ethnographic Collection for the University of Akron and delivered the inaugural lecture in its Institute for Human Science & Culture speaker series.
Dr. Roberts co-edited *Surviving the Long Wars: Creative Rebellion at the Ends of Empire* (Bridge Books, 2024). She is completing her book Weaving Resistance, which argues that Native professionals working inside museums practice resurgence rather than institutional decolonization, and that their real-time writing and creative work constitute scholarship in their own right. A forthcoming book chapter examines Constellations of Place and Fort Lewis College's engagement with the legacy of the Fort Lewis Indian Boarding School during the 2026 U.S. Semiquincentennial and Colorado Sesquicentennial.
Current Featured Project:
Constellations of Place Curated as part of Fort Lewis College’s 250/150 initiative and the Colorado 150 Southwest “Power of Place” effort.
Rather than marking these anniversaries as simple celebrations, Constellations of Place invites reflection on how history and belonging are contested. The exhibition pairs the Center of Southwest Studies’ permanent collections with contemporary Indigenous, Native American, and Latinx artwork. It understands "place" not as a single story, but as a constellation of relationships, memories, and responsibilities.
Watch: Constellations of Place Exhibition Opens at Fort Lewis College
Notable Curatorial Projects:
Dr. Roberts has curated groundbreaking exhibitions across the country that center sovereignty and "survivance," challenging institutional norms through Indigenous methodologies:
Eternal Testament: Resistance & Refusal (The Church, Sag Harbor, 2025) – Co-curated with Shinnecock artist Jeremy Dennis, this exhibition used fine art to highlight sovereignty and survivance in the Hamptons. It was notably recognized by Hyperallergic as one of the best art events globally in 2025.
Continuity: Cahuilla Basket Weavers and Their Legacies (Benton Museum of Art, 2024) – A guest-curated initiative that reunited ancestral Cahuilla baskets with descendant families, foregrounding Indigenous protocols in curatorial practice.
NAGPRA Assessment & Consultation (University of Akron, 2024) – Worked with the Institute for Human Science and Culture to assess donated collections and guide the university’s legal and ethical responsibilities under NAGPRA protocols.
Still We Smile: Humor as Correction and Joy (Idyllwild Arts, 2023) – Curated for the Native American Invitational, this exhibition explored Indigenous humor as a vital tool for healing, resistance, and joy.
Native Truths: Our Stories. Our Voices. (Field Museum of Natural History, 2022) – Co-developed as a permanent, groundbreaking exhibition that centers contemporary Native perspectives and lived experiences.
Education & Academic Appointments
Dr. Roberts brings academic rigor and an ethic of integrity to every role she inhabits.
Ph.D. in History | University of California, Riverside
M.A. in Public History | University of California, Riverside
B.A. in History | California State University, San Bernardino
Advisory: Scholarly Advisory Committee for the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.
Teaching: Formerly a Visiting Professor with the Art History Department at Pomona College and Scholar-in-Residence at Pitzer College.
Personal Land Acknowledgment:
I would like to acknowledge that as a Northern Paiute woman I live, work, eat, and sleep on the homelands of the Tongva (Gabrieleno) people. May we always honor this Nation, their sovereignty, their ways of life, and the love they have for their ancestors. We are all on Native Land.
If you would like to learn how to help your institution engage with anti-colonial practices, and to learn from Meranda’s experiences, please feel free to reach out to her in the link above!
As you navigate through this website, please consider engaging in reciprocity. Meranda currently works independently, and is very open with sharing so much of her journey freely.
If you learn from her and would like to give back, please consider donating to her Venmo @Meranda-R or paypal @MerandaRoberts