He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and his research explores the intersection of indigenous governance and indigenous environmental perspectives in settler state contexts. He studies the ability of indigenous nations to assert sovereignty over their lands and the extent to which this enables the perpetuation of unique ecological knowledges and practices. As a graduate student, he was awarded the EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowship, and his work is featured in a recent EPA report, “A Decade of Tribal Environmental Health Research” (PDF)(60 pp,6.18 MB, About PDF). He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. in Anthropology (Summa cum laude) from the University of Arizona, Tucson.