Department of American Studies

BSED, 2018, History Secondary Education, Missouri State University
MA, 2020, History, Indiana University Bloomington

Caitlyn (Ayoka) Wicks is an Indigenous PhD Student in the United States History and American Studies programs. She studies Indigenous/Native American activism in the 20^th and 21^st centuries with an intended dissertation focus on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Movement (MMIWG2SM). Before coming to Bloomington, Ayoka received a BSED in History Secondary Education from Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. She was a high school teacher for Liberty Public Schools before coming to IU to further her education and activism pursuits of decolonizing the social studies discipline. Ayoka is accompanied on campus by her Service Dog, Anubis, who enjoys stealing affection from students and professors when he takes breaks. Ayoka is in her fourth year and continuing a 3-year Editorial Assistantship as the Diversity Fellow for the Organization of American Historians, now working at the Journal of American History. She is also an assistant coach for Indiana University’s competitive debate team.