About Dr. Proudfit
Director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center (CICSC) and Department Chair and full Professor of American Indian Studies at CSU San Marcos. Dr. Proudfit has been tenured three times in the CSU system and has authored and edited countless works on American Indian sovereignty, education and American Indian media representations, including the recently published book in a series of ten books entitled, On Indian Ground: A Return to Indigenous Knowledge-Generating Hope, Leadership and Sovereignty through Education. Proudfit is author of the forthcoming 2019 book, Beyond the American Indian Stereotype. She is the founder and Executive Director of the California’s American Indian & Indigenous Film Festival as well as the Director of the American Indian Digital Media and Culture Project which invests and advocates in the next generation of Indigenous media makers. Proudfit was the co-founder of the Native Networkers, which consulted with the entertainment industries in fostering authentic representation of Native Americans. She has consulted and advised various projects in both film and TV including the recent Scott Cooper film HOSTILES starring Christian Bale and Wes Studi. She works as an independent media maker, media producer and consultant engaged in elevating the authentic and contemporary voice of Native Americans. She owns Naqmayam Communications, an independent, full-service, PR, marketing and advertising agency. Dr. Proudfit was the first special advisor to the Honorable Cruz M. Bustamante, lieutenant governor of California, for California Indian Sovereign Nations in 2002 and in 2016, was appointed by President Obama to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science with emphasis in public policy and American Indian studies from Northern Arizona University.