Red Hoop Talk EP 103: Dr. Luhui Whitebear, Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation

Dr. Luhui Whitebear is a citizen of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, with Huastec and Cochimi ancestry, and her work is grounded in her commitment to staying close to culture. Rooted in her Chumash homelands in Santa Barbara and her life in Oregon, she carries that responsibility into every space she moves through. As an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies at Oregon State University—where she also earned all four of her degrees as a first-generation college student—Dr. Whitebear centers Native Nations, land, and lived experience in her teaching and research.

Her work reflects what it means to stay close to culture across systems that often try to distance Native Peoples from it. Her research focuses on Indigenous feminisms, Indigenous rhetorics, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, national law and policy, and Indigenous land and water rights. She brings together scholarship, advocacy, and lived experience as a mother, poet, and activist, grounding her work in Indigenous knowledge systems and community responsibility.

Beyond the classroom, Dr. Whitebear continues this work through leadership and direct service. She serves as Chair of the Corvallis School Board and as a representative within the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, and previously led the Kaku-Ixt Mana Ina Haws at Oregon State University, supporting Native students in higher education. Across all of her roles, her work reflects a commitment to protecting culture, strengthening Native Nations, and building pathways for the next generations.

Written by Association on American Indian Affairs