Shawna Rae Yazzie is a Diné scholar, educator, and weaver whose work centers Diné women, Indigenous education, community, and creative practices. She recently completed her Ph.D. in Native American Studies at the University of California, Davis, where her research focused on Diné weaving, survivance, and the resurgence of women’s rug weaving in her home community of Piñon, Arizona.

Her dissertation, Tł’ááschí’í Da’atłʼóh: Diné Weaving Stories of Survivance through the Warp of a Fingers of Red Bottom Girl, documents the experiences and teachings of Diné women weavers and explores weaving as a practice of cultural continuance, community wellness, and survivance. Her work is grounded in Diné ways of knowing and emphasizes relationships between family, community, land, and creative practice.

Yazzie earned her M.A. in Native American Studies from UC Davis in 2021 and has worked in higher education, student support, and community-based education. She is committed to supporting Native students and communities through education, research, mentorship, and the continued revitalization of Indigenous knowledge and practices.