About me

Dr. Tria Blu Wakpa is an assistant professor of dance studies in the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance. She is a scholar and practitioner of Indigenous contemporary dance, North American Hand Talk (Indigenous sign language), martial arts, and yoga. Blu Wakpa’s research and teaching combines community-based, Indigenous, and feminist methodologies with critical race theories to examine the politics and practices of dance and other movement practices in educational and carceral institutions for Indigenous peoples. In addition to her appointment in WACD, Tria is involved with the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA, and has taught at public, private, tribal, and carceral institutions. She is a 2021-2022 Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow and has received other major fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Program, the Hellman Fellows Fund, and the UC President’s Postdoctoral Program.