David Martinez
Professor,
American Indian Studies
Other ASU affiliations
School of Transborder Studies
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Phone: 480-727-9818
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Fax: 480-965-2216
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AG 372 TEMPE, AZ 85287
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Mail code: 4603Campus: Tempe
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Long Bio
David Martínez (Akimel O'odham/Hia-Ced O'odham/Mexican), Professor of American Indian Studies and Transborder Studies (joint appointment), is the author of the forthcoming The Maze of History: Komal Hok, O'odham Teachings, and an Earth-Based Sense of Time (University of New Mexico Press, 2026).
Martínez is also the author of Dakota Philosopher: Charles Eastman and American Indian Thought (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009), Life of the Indigenous Mind: Vine Deloria Jr and the Birth of the Red Power Movement (University of Nebraska Press, 2019), My Heart Is Bound Up With Them: How Carlos Montezuma Became the Voice of a Generation (University of Arizona Press, 2023), and editor of The American Indian Intellectual Tradition: An Anthology of Writings from 1772 to 1972 (Cornell University Press, 2011).
Lastly, Martínez is the director and founder of the Institute for Transborder Indigenous Nations (ITIN), which is housed in the School of Transborder Studies, where it focuses on Indigenous nations impacted by the US-Mexico Border.
Education
- Ph.D. Philosophy, State University of New York at Stony Brook 1997. Dissertation: The Epic of Peace: Poetry as the Foundation of Philosohy. Chair: Edward S Casey.
- M.A. American Indian Studies, University of Arizona 1993. Thesis: The Epiphany of the Earth: An O'odham Environmental Ethic. Chair: Ofelia Zepeda.
- B.A. Philosophy, University of Rhode Island 1988
Video
Research Interests
American Indian intellectual history; American Indian art and aesthetics; Comparative American Indian folklore studies.
Publications
- David Martínez. "This Is (Not) Indian Painting: George Morrison, Minnesota, and the Land He Never Really Left Behind". American Indian Quarterly (2015).
- David Martínez. "Living Large During the Jazz Age: ‘Big Chief’ Russell Moore, Pima Memories, and the Changing Roles of American Indians in the Twentieth Century". Journal of Arizona History (2014).
- David Martínez. "Neither Medicine Man Nor Chief: The Role of the Intellectual in the American Indian Community". Studies in American Indian Literature (2014).
- David Martinez. "Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto". Multicultural America, Volume 2 (2013).
- David Martinez. "Native American Intellectual Culture". Oxford Encyclopedia of American Culture and Intellectual History, Volume 2 (2013).
- David Martinez. "Carlos Montezuma’s Fight Against ‘Bureauism’: An Unexpected Pima Hero,". Special joint issue of Studies in American Indian Literature and American Indian Quarterly (2013).
- David Martinez. "From Off the Rez to Off the Hook! Douglas Miles and Apache Skateboards". American Indian Quarterly (2013).
- David Martinez. "Hiding in the Shadows of History: Revitalizing Hia C-ed O’odham Peoplehood,". Journal of the Southwest (2013).
- David Martinez. "Remembering the Thirty-Eight: Abraham Lincoln and the ‘War On Barbarism’". Wicazo Sa Review (2013).
- David Martinez. Peter Pan. Seeing Red-Hollywood’s Pixeled Skins: American Indians and Film (2013).
- . . Review of: "The Assassination of Hole in the Day" (2012).
- David Martinez. The American Indian Intellectual Tradition: An Anthology of Writings from 1772 to 1972. (2011).
- . . Review of: "Stealing the Gila: The Pima Agricultural Economy and Water Deprivation, 1848-1921" (2011).
- . . Review of: "The Sweet Smell of Home: The Life and Art of Leonard F Chana" (2011).
- David Martinez. Pulling Down the Clouds: The O'odham Intellectual Tradition During a Time of Famine. American Indian Quarterly (2010).
- David Martinez. The Path Less Taken: My Life as a Pima Intellectual. Red Ink Magazine (2010).
- . . Review of: Nicholas Black Elk: Medicine Man, Missionary, Mystic (2010).
- . . Review of: Yaqui Homeland and Home Place: The Everyday Production of Ethnic Identity (2010).
- David Martinez. Out of the Woods and Into the Museum: Charles A. Eastman's 1910 Collecting Expedition Across Ojibwe Country. American Indian Culture and Research Journal (2009).
- Martinez, David. Dakota Philosopher: Charles Eastman and American Indian Thought. (2009).
- David Martinez. Savage Philosopher: A Meditation On Charles Eastman's "Indian Boyhood". Yellow Medicine Review (2008).
Courses
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
| AIS 430 | Contemp Indigenous Spiritualit |
| TCL 202 | Transborder Society&Culture II |
| AIS 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 320 | AI Philosophies & World Views |
| TCL 494 | Special Topics |
| TSS 598 | Special Topics |
| AIS 493 | Honors Thesis |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| AIS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
| AIS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| AIS 430 | Contemp Indigenous Spiritualit |
| TCL 202 | Transborder Society&Culture II |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 320 | AI Philosophies & World Views |
| TCL 494 | Special Topics |
| TSS 598 | Special Topics |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| AIS 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| AIS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
| AIS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| AIS 430 | Contemp Indigenous Spiritualit |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 503 | Contemporary Issues of AIN |
| AIS 320 | AI Philosophies & World Views |
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
| AIS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| AIS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| AIS 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
2022 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
2022 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| AIS 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| AIS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
| AIS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| AIS 430 | Contemp Indigenous Spiritualit |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 503 | Contemporary Issues of AIN |
| AIS 320 | AI Philosophies & World Views |
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
| AIS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| AIS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| AIS 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2021 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
2021 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| AIS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
| AIS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| AIS 430 | Contemp Indigenous Spiritualit |
2020 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 503 | Contemporary Issues of AIN |
| AIS 320 | AI Philosophies & World Views |
| AIS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| AIS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| AIS 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2020 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
2020 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| AIS 498 | Pro-Seminar |
| AIS 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| AIS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| AIS 502 | AIS Research Methods |
| AIS 590 | Reading and Conference |
| HST 790 | Reading and Conference |
| AIS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
Presentations
- David Martinez. "Blinded By Science!: Vine Deloria Jr’s Critique of Archeology". Western Social Sciences Association (Apr 2013).
- David Martinez. "Blinded By Science!: Vine Deloria Jr’s Critique of Archeology". Great Plains Writers’ Conference (Mar 2013).
- David Martinez. "Beyond the Hollywood Indian". Indigenous Poets and Writers Exhibit (Nov 2011).
- David Martinez. "Well-Known SAI Leaders: Eastman, Zitkala-Sa, Montezuma, and Parker". Society of American Indians Centennial Symposium (Oct 2011).
- David Martinez. "4WheelWarPony". Arizona Humanities Festival: "Stories of Us" (Oct 2011).
- David Martinez. "Neither Medicine Man nor Chief: The Role of the ‘Intellectual’ in the American Indian Community". CSREA Speaker Series (Mar 2011).
- David Martinez. "The Importance of Indigenous Literature and History in the U.S. Curriculum". OneBookAZ (Mar 2011).
- David Martinez. The Fall of Hohokam Civilization: An Army of Tribes from the East. American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting (Nov 2010).
- David Martinez. From Off the Rez to Off the Hook! Doug Miles, APACHE SKATEBOARDS, and Indigenous Guerilla Art. American Society for Ethnohistory Annual Meeting (Oct 2010).
- David Martinez. The Myth of Two Worlds: Carlos Montezuma, Arizona, and the Fight Against Bureauism. Annual Meeting of the American Society for Ethnohistory (Nov 2008).
- David Martinez. Rabbits and Flying Indians: The Satirical Surrealism of Jim Denomie. 40th Annual Algonquian Conference (Oct 2008).
- David Martinez. Pulling Down the Clouds: O'odham Writers After the Time of Famine. Western Social Sciences Association Annual Meeting (Apr 2008).
- David Martinez. The Life of the American Indian Mind: An Indigenous Tradition. American Indian Studies Association Annual Meeting (Feb 2008).
Service
- Provost Native American Advisory Council (P-NAAC), Co-Chair (2014 - Present)
- H-AmIndian Online Network, Board member (2014 - Present)
- Special Graduate Programs Committee, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Committee member (2013 - Present)
- Graduate Admissions Committee, Chair (2012 - Present)
- Graduate Admissions Committee, Chair (2012 - Present)
- Phi Sigma Nu, Native American Fraternity, Faculty Adviser (2007 - Present)
- University Senate Committee on Libraries, Committee member (2014 - 2016)
- University Senate, Senator (2009 - 2016)
- Labriola Book Award for American Indian Studies, Judge & Committee Chair (2008 - 2016)
- University of Oklahoma Press, Peer review (2014 - 2015)
- University Senate, Senator (2009 - 2014)
- Labriola Book Award for American Indian History, Judge (2008 - 2014)
- Phi Sigma Nu, Native American Fraternity, Faculty Adviser (2007 - 2014)
- Wicazo Sa Review, Peer review (2013 - 2013)
- University Senate Committee on the Constitution and By-Laws, Member (2012 - 2013)
- Oxford University Press, Peer review (2013 - 2013)
- American Indian Quarterly, Peer review (2013 - 2013)
- University Senate, Senator (2009 - 2012)
- Labriola Book Award for American Indian History, Judge (2008 - 2012)
- Phi Sigma Nu, Native American Fraternity, Faculty Adviser (2007 - 2012)
- State University of New York Press, Peer review (2011 - 2011)
- Cornell University Press, Peer review (2011 - 2011)
- Wicazo Sa Review, Peer review (2011 - 2011)
- American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Peer review (2011 - 2011)
- Wicazo Sa Review, Peer review (2010 - 2010)
- Faculty Senate, Senator (2009 - 2010)
- Phi Sigma Nu, Native American Fraternity, Faculty Adviser (2007 - 2010)
- Assistant and Associate Professor Search Committee, Department of History, Search Committee Member (2009 - 2010)
- Ira H Hayes High School, Commencement Speaker (2009 - 2009)
- Student Affairs and Grievance Committee, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Committee Member (2008 - 2009)
- Director of American Indian Studies Search Committee, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Search Committee Member (2008 - 2009)
- Assistant and Associate Professor Search Committee, Department of History, Search Committee Member (2008 - 2008)
- Morris K. Udall Undergraduate Scholarship, Reviewer (2008 - 2008)
- Assistant and Associate Professor Search Committee, American Indian Studies Program, Search Committee Member (2007 - 2008)
- Ford Predoctoral Dissertation and Ford Postdoctoral Diversity Fellowships, Reviewer (2007 - 2008)