Wesley Thomas (anthropologist)

Wesley Thomas
OccupationAnthropologist
Academic background
Education
ThesisGendering Navajo bodies: A personal, political, and philosophical treatise (1999)
Academic work
DisciplineAnthropology
InstitutionsNavajo Technical University

Dr. Wesley Thomas is a Diné (Navajo) cultural anthropologist and educator whose work focuses on Indigenous knowledge systems, Navajo spirituality, gender diversity, and the relationship between land and identity.[1]

Career

By 2003, Thomas was working as an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University, where he specialized in American Indian gender studies.[2] He served as Academic Dean (2006-2009) and Department Chair of the Center for Diné Studies (2011-2016) at Diné College.[3] Thomas also served as co-director of GALACTIC (Global Arts Language Arts Culture Tradition Indigenous Communities).[4]

He is a professor emeritus at Navajo Technical University[5], where he also served as Dean of Graduate Studies.[6] At Navajo Technical University, Thomas helped to establish a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Diné culture, language, and leadership.[7][8] His work has focused on decolonization of curricula within Indigenous higher educational institutions.[1]

He was featured in the short documentary The Importance of Graduating in the Navajo Way[8] and the 2013 documentary Two Spirits.[9]

Education

Thomas received a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, a Master of Arts in Cultural Anthropology, and a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology, from the University of Washington.[10] While completing his PhD, Thomas served as a co-curator for the exhibit Woven by the Grandmothers: Nineteenth-Century Navajo Textiles at the National Museum of the American Indian.[11]

Personal life

Thomas is a member of the Navajo Nation. He is gay.[2] Thomas is based in Tsaile, Arizona.[9]

Publications

Books

  • Jacobs, Sue-Ellen; Thomas, Wesley; Lang, Sabine, eds. (1997). Two-spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-06645-0.[12][13][14][15]
    • Author of the chapter "Navajo Constructions of Gender and Sexuality"

References

  1. 1 2 "Wesley Thomas: Senior Fellows: About". Center for the Study of the Middle East. Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  2. 1 2 "Gay Navajos Seek Place Amid Tradition". The Washington Post. 2003-11-30. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  3. ↑ "Bios". galactic.roadworkcenter.org. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  4. ↑ "Global Indigenous Studies". AAC&U. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  5. ↑ April 4; Comments, 2024 | Henry Lesperance. "A Navajo/Anthro Perspective: Wesley Thomas on Diné Landscape, Identity, and Spirituality". Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Retrieved 2026-03-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ "In Navajo Nation, the Beating Heart of Community". The Ensemble. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  7. ↑ Becenti, Delores (2020-11-16). "The Diné Culture, Language, and Leadership Master's Program at Navajo Technical University". Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  8. 1 2 "The Importance of Graduating in the Navajo Way". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  9. 1 2 Staff, I. C. T. (2013-11-06). "PBS Documentary Explores Navajo Belief in Four Genders". ICT. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  10. ↑ "School of Graduate Studies & Research Faculty". NTU. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  11. ↑ Webster, Laurie D. (1998). "Review of Woven by the Grandmothers: Nineteenth-Century Navajo Textiles from the National Museum of the American Indian; Woven by the Grandmothers: Nineteenth-Century Navajo Textiles from the National Museum of the American Indian. [Catalog]". American Anthropologist. 100 (4): 999–1005. ISSN 0002-7294.
  12. ↑ Miller, Jay (1998). "Review of Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality". Journal of Anthropological Research. 54 (2): 250–252. doi:10.1086/jar.54.2.3631740. ISSN 0091-7710. JSTOR 3631740.
  13. ↑ Milne, Derek (1999-03-01). "Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality and Spirituality. Edited by Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang". American Indian Culture and Research Journal. 23 (2). ISSN 0161-6463.
  14. ↑ Valentine, David (2001). "Review of Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality; Men as Women, Women as Men: Changing Gender in Native American Cultures, Sabine Lang". Signs. 27 (1): 290–294. doi:10.1086/495686. ISSN 0097-9740. JSTOR 3175882.
  15. ↑ Prince-Hughes, Tara (1998). "Reviewed work: Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality, Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley-Thomas, Sabine Lang". Studies in American Indian Literatures. 10 (4): 80–83. JSTOR 20739476.
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