Renae Watchman

Tódich’íi’nii éínishłị dóó Kinyaa'áanii báshíshchíín. Dóó Tsídii/ Tsalagi (Gvgiyvwi Anitsisqua) éí da shichei. Táchii'nii éí da shinálí. Naat’áanii Nééz déé’ íiyisí naashá, áádóó Haudenosaunee dóó Mississauga bikéyah, dii shighaan. Ákót'éego Diné dóó Tsalagi Asdzą́ą́n nishłį́. Shí éí Renae Watchman yinishyé. 

I am Bitter Water Clan and born for Towering House. My maternal grandfather was Bird Clan from the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and my paternal grandfather was Red Running Through the Water Clan. I am a citizen of the Navajo Nation, enrolled at Shiprock, New Mexico, and I live and work in Haudenosaunee and Mississauga homelands. These are what make me a Diné/Tsalagi woman. 

Diné stories illustrate the kinship responsibilities of the Tódich’íi’nii are as philosophers and educators, and the Kinya’áanii are as leaders and guides. I am an associate professor of Indigenous literary and creative arts at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I am also the inaugural Graduate Chair of the MA Program in Indigenous Studies.  A list of my publications can be found here. 

I was recently named the Scholar-In-Community for the Faculty of Social Sciences, International as well as the McMaster Indigenous Research Institute (MIRI) Dawn Martin-Hill Community Fellow (2025-2027). For each, respectively, I am working to curate and elevate Southwest Indigenous writers in collaboration with the Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures (ASAIL), of which I am the elected VP. I am also working with a Diné language nest, Saad K’idilyé to support their “planting the language seed” initiatives. One of my long-term collaborations is SSHRC-funded project called Racialized Ecologies, where I am specifically looking at how Indigenous literature and film explore belongingness, kinship, languages, presence, and thrivance to build worlds apart from this one that is dystopic and dying.