I am a second-year Ph.D. student in the Information Science and Technology program at the Syracuse University iSchool. As an Indigenous information scientist, I focus on Indigenous people’s information issues, including lack of information access, deficient data literacy, and the lack of broadband infrastructure on tribal lands. Other foci include the illuminating of Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies, the resiliency of Indigenous peoples’ use of information and communication technologies (ICT), and the community-based participatory design of Indigenous information systems.
I received a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP). I also have an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Miami (FL), where I was a James A. Michener Writing Fellow. I was summarily hired there as an English Composition Lecturer after earning that degree. I later returned to UTEP where I earned an M.A. in Borderlands History. I then went on to earn an M.L.I.S. at the University of Arizona iSchool. Between my different degrees, I worked in Cultural Resource Management as an archaeologist.
Research Areas: Indigenous Data Sovereignty, Critical Technology Studies, Information Literacy, Community-based Participatory Research and Design, Rural Computing
Email: mvilla04@syr.edu
Website: https://maiidiyeh.mozellosite.com
