Kali Simmons returns home to her alma mater as an assistant professor in Indigenous Nations Studies. Born and raised in Central Oregon, she graduated from Portland State with a bachelor's in English and film studies. She earned her master's in English at University of Oregon before going on to pursue her Ph.D. at the University of California, Riverside under her advisor, Michelle Raheja, whose research focuses on Native American cultural studies and theory.
Simmons' research examines the stories told by and about Indigenous peoples, specifically within genre literature and film.
"I’m Oglala Lakota from my mother’s side and I pursue this work to think about the ways Indigenous worldviews, histories, and aesthetics are expressed through literature and film," she says.
She grew up loving horror films and stories, but noticed that Indigenous peoples were either conspicuously absent from them or were always portrayed as horrific monsters who hurt people.
"As I started looking at Indigenous takes on the horror genre, I discovered all of these amazing and new and different spins on the conventions of horror and just genre conventions more broadly," she says.
Though she focuses primarily on horror in her current work, she says she's also interested in the ways that Indigenous ways of knowing and being in the world challenge the distinction between realism/fantasy.
What makes this work meaningful to you?
What I find most meaningful in this work are two things: 1) Seeing all the different kinds of relations with the world and other kinds of beings that different tribes/communities/nations express in their cultural productions - I love a good scary story - and 2) Seeing how Native filmmakers and writers re-inscribe and put their own spin on “western” horror texts as a way to critique colonialism and western epistemes.
What drew you to PSU and in particular, the School of Gender, Race and Nations?
As an undergrad I was drawn to PSU because Portland is such a cultural hub for music and art and film. Growing up in Central Oregon there was less of that that was accessible and it's nice to be in a place where there’s always so much going on while also being so close to lots of outdoors-y stuff too.
Coming back as a professor, I’m excited to return to the land and community as I enjoyed my time here as an undergrad immensely. The School of Gender, Race, and Nations hadn’t been formed yet when I was here earning my BA, and honestly, I didn’t really engage with very many Indigenous films or novels until I went on to graduate school. It’s incredibly exciting to be a part of this burgeoning community, especially since there are also so many Native students enrolled in the program.
What’s a course you’re particularly excited to teach?
I’ve designed a class called “Horror and Indigeneity” that I’ve taught elsewhere and am excited to teach at PSU soon. We spend the first part of the class looking at representations of Indigenous peoples in horror texts and then the other half of the term looking at Indigenous Horror – scary stories written by Indigenous people. There have been so many new books and films that have come out since I last taught this course that I’m excited to discuss with everyone, and I’m hoping to invite a couple of the authors/filmmakers to speak to the class as well so they can talk about their work.
What’s one thing you hope students who take a class with you will come away with?
I hope regardless of your discipline (sciences, humanities, etc) that you can walk away from one of my classes as a more diligent reader or viewer. I’m kind-of a “form monster,” meaning I’m really interested in not just what the story says but how the story is being told, and so we spend a lot of time thinking about the way shots are composed and how passages are constructed and put together. I also hope students walk away realizing the **massive** diversity of Native cultural expression. Although we all have shared experiences, an Ojibwe writer has an entirely distinct repertoire to draw from than, say, a Laguna Pueblo writer. I think a lot of it has to do with land and how lands shape Native stories.
What are you most looking forward to doing in your first year at PSU?
Alongside rediscovering Portland -- it’s been about eight years since I last lived here and I’m already discovering how things have and have not changed -- I’m excited to build community with my colleagues and students here at PSU. I’m looking forward to hearing more about the research being done by my students and colleagues in the department and folks across the uni.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
I love hiking and fishing. If you know of any good spots, please let me know!