Diné scholar joins UNM Native American Studies

Posted by Navajo Times | Jun 11, 2026 | Education |

WINDOW ROCK

Shayla Chatto, a Diné scholar whose work centers on state-mandated PK-20 Native and Indigenous education, will join the University of New Mexico’s Department of Native American Studies as a 2026-27 postdoctoral fellow.

Chatto and Madeline Rose Mendoza will begin in August 2026 and teach courses for the department in spring 2027, according to a department announcement.

Chatto is also a descendant of the White Mountain Apache Tribe. She has a doctorate in culturally sustaining education and a graduate certificate in American Indian and Indigenous Studies from the University of Washington.

Her research interests include state-mandated Native and Indigenous education work, culturally sustaining and revitalizing teaching methods, land-based theories and teaching practices grounded in Indigenous research methods.

Chatto recently completed the Bonderman Fellowship, which allowed her to travel to South America, South Africa and Southeast Asia.

Mendoza, who is Laguna Pueblo, Ohkay Owingeh and Chicana, is from Rio Rancho, New Mexico. She has a doctorate in rhetoric and writing from UNM’s Department of English Language and Literature.

Her dissertation is titled “Regenerative Writing: The Rhetorics of Indigenous Futurisms as Pedagogical Praxis.” Her research explores Indigenous futurisms, Indigenous feminist rhetorics, land-based teaching methods and multimodal compositions.

Mendoza also serves as associate editor for Wicazo Sa Review, a Native studies journal.

Get instant access to this story by purchasing one of our many e-edition subscriptions HERE at our Navajo Times Store.