"With the Ancestors": Mel Fillmore and Policy Work with MMIP

Native Circles

Co-founders of the Native Circles podcast Sarah Newcomb and Farina King co-host this session introducing Dr. Melanie ("Mel") Fillmore (they/them/she/her) who is urban mixed Hunkpapa, Lakota of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. Mel is an assistant professor of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma (OU).
Their work is an iterative approach to understand the political engagement of Indigenous communities in policy and data. They envision a future of collaborative governance led by Indigenous ancestral wisdom and lived experiences. Melanie was the lead researcher on the 2020 HCR33 Report on Idaho’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP). Their 2024 dissertation, “Redefining Missing in the Third Space of Sovereignty,” considers how US federalism is fundamentally changed in collaborative structures and are created between tribes, states, and the federal institutions, particularly when tribes are leading collaborations on agreements or policy initiatives.

Prior to joining OU, Mel has taught University Foundations and Anthropology courses at Boise State University on social change, political violence, Native American and Indigenous studies, and Indigenous Methodologies. They have worked as a data analyst for the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence to understand the impacts of domestic violence on Indigenous families across Idaho. In this episode, Mel emphasizes the importance of knowing and being "with her ancestors."
Resources:
Mel Fillmore professional OU webpage
HCR33 Report on Idaho's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP)
Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence