Staff

Heather Bruegl (she/her/hers) is a citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and first-line descendent Stockbridge Munsee. She graduated from Madonna University in Michigan and holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in U.S. History. Her research comprises numerous topics related to American history, legacies of colonization, and Indigeneity, including the history of American Boarding Schools, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Heather has presented her work at academic institutions including the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vassar College, and Bard College. 

Heather consults for a variety of cultural centers and is a frequent lecturer at conferences on topics ranging from intergenerational racism and trauma to the fight for clean water in Indian Country. She has been invited to share her research on Indigenous history, including policy and activism, equity in museums, and land back initiatives for such institutions as the Tate and the Brooklyn Public Library. Heather spoke at the Women’s March in Lansing, Michigan, in January 2018, and at the Indigenous Peoples March in Washington, DC, in January 2019. In 2019, 2020, and 2021, Heather spoke at the Crazy Horse Memorial and Museum in Custer, South Dakota, for its Talking Circle Series.

Heather is currently a Policy Specialist for the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center and is a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay in the First Nations Education Ed.D Program. She also works as a public historian and independent consultant who works with institutions and organizations for Indigenous sovereignty and collective liberation.