Judy BlueHorse Skelton (Nez Perce/Cherokee) is Assistant Professor in the Indigenous Nations Studies Program at Portland State University where teaches Indigenous Ecological Healing Practices, Contemporary Issues in Indian Country, Indigenous Women Leadership, and Indigenous Gardens and Food Justice. She has worked with federal, state, and local Native organizations and tribes throughout the Northwest for more than 25 years, conducting cultural activities and research focusing on traditional and contemporary uses of native plants for food, medicine, ceremony, and healthy lifeways.
Judy is author of six collections of essays for teachers, including Native America: A Sustainable Culture (1999), and Lewis & Clark Through Native American Eyes (2003). In 2017 she received the PSU President’s Diversity Award and, in 2014, the Oregon Indian Education Association’s award for Outstanding Indian Educator. Judy serves on the boards of Portland Parks, The Nature Conservancy, and Urban Greenspace Institute. Collaborative work includes the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, NARA (Native American Rehabilitation Association), the Native American Community Advisory Council to Portland Parks and Metro, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, integrating Indigenous land management practices with traditional knowledge to address food sovereignty/justice and reclaim the urban forest for physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
