I am a sociologist whose research centers on race and ethnicity, migration, and social movements. I focus on how Indigenous peoples identify and how they are racialized by others, as well as the consequences of this racialization in Latin America and the United States. I highlight processes of Indigenous identification, struggles for Indigenous state recognition, and Indigenous and mestizo Latinx belonging.

I am currently working on a research project that centers on Indigenous migrants’ identification and sense of belonging in U.S. racial categories. In this mixed method project, I examine how Latin American racial ideologies, such as mestizaje, impact Latinxs in the U.S., determining who belongs and who is on the margins of Latinidad. I also examine how recent changes in the American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) category in the U.S. Census impact Indigenous migrants’ self-identification.

My work has been featured in the American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, and Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. My research has also been funded by several organizations, including the Social Science Research Council and the Institute for Citizens & Scholars.