Holly Miowak Guise is an assistant professor of history at the University of New Mexico. An Iñupiaq Alaska Native, she is an expert in Indigenous U.S. history (with a focus on World War II-era Alaskan history) and the growing movement within modern day Indigenous activists called Rematriation, the practice of returning ideas, things and practices to their original, natural context as a form of cultural healing.

Guise has been working on a digital humanities project that features oral histories from Native elders, veterans and Unangan internment survivors. In 2008, she began traveling throughout Alaska to interview dozens of veterans to uncover forgotten or overlooked aspects of WWII history. In 2013, she pivoted to interviewing Alaska Native elders about their memories of WWII-era Alaska as service members, civilians and children. 

The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development named Guise one of its “40 Under 40” Native leaders making significant impacts within their communities. 

Courtesy of Dr. Holly Guise

Expertise: Indigenous American history, World War II Pacific history, Alaska history, segregation, race and ethnicity, Native relocation and internment camps, Native women’s history, and Indigenous military service during WWII, Alaska Native activist Elizabeth Peratrovich

Location: Albuquerque, N.M.

Email: hguise@unm.edu 

Phone: 505-277-2451

Twitter: @hollyguise