Sarah Deer

Prof. Deer holds a joint appointment in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Indigenous Studies at KU. She is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, and is the Chief Justice for the Prairie Island Indian Community Court of Appeals. 

A lawyer by training but an advocate in practice, Prof. Deer’s scholarship focuses on the intersection of federal Indian law and victims' rights, using indigenous feminist principles as a framework. Her work to end violence against Native women has received national awards from the American Bar Association and the Department of Justice. She has testified before Congress on four occasions regarding violence against Native women and was appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder to chair a federal advisory committee on sexual violence in Indian country. 

Prof. Deer received a MacArthur Fellowship "Genius" Award from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and in 2019 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Learn more about Sarah Deer on the Women Gender and Sexuality Studies website.