Brenda Child
Brenda J. Child is an Ojibwe historian and author. Biography. Brenda J. Child is a citizen of the Red Lake band of Chippewa and a historian. She is Northrop Professor of American Studies at the University of Minnesota. Her scholarship focuses on American Indian history, including the legacy of American Indian Boarding Schools in the United States, the role of Ojibwe women in preserving culture, Indigenous education, social history, and the historical legacy of the jingle dress. She also published an award-winning children's book, "Bowwow Powwow Bagosenjige-niimi’idim". She has served as president of the Native  American and Indigenous Studies Association from 2017-2018 and served on the board of trustees of the National Museum of the American Indian from 2013 to 2019. Early life. Child was born on the Red Lake Ojibwe Reservation (Miskwaagamiiwizaag'igan) in Northern Minnesota in 1959. She has a B.S. Ed. in History and Social Studies from Bemidji State University, a M.A. in History from the University of Iowa (1983) and PhD in History from the University of Iowa (1993). Scholarship. Child's research and scholarship focuses on Ojibwe history. She has also curated museum exhibits and contributed to public history efforts , including co-founding The Ojibwe People's Dictionary with John Nichols. In 2019 Child curated an exhibit about the legacy of the jingle dress titled "Ziibaask'iganagooday: The Jingle Dress at 100".