Mary Kate Dennis

• Doctor of Philosophy (Joint Program in Social Work and Sociology) -  University of Michigan, 2013
• Master of Social Work - Washington University, St. Louis, 2004
• Master of Arts - University of Chicago, 2001
• Bachelor of Arts - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2000

Dr. Dennis’s interdisciplinary work focuses on Indigenous elders living in the U.S and Canada, with particular attention to the communal experiences and care related to the land and healing with a focus on the following areas:

• Gerontology
• Loss and grief
• Environmental Justice
• Food Sovereignty
• Indigenous Methodologies

Research in the news

Dr. Dennis teaches in the Master of Social Work based in Indigenous Knowledges (MSW-IK) Program. She has taught the following courses in partnership with a knowledge holder:

• SWRK 7720: Critical Theory and Indigenous Peoples with Ed Azure
• SWRK 7750: Indigeneity, Power and Privilege with Sherry Copenace
• SWRK 7780: Social Work, Social Challenges and Indigenous Peoples with Ed Azure
• SWRK 7800: Indigenism, Elder lead with Sherry Copenace
• SWRK 7740: Indigenous Peoples, Identity and Social Work, Elder lead by Ed Azure

Mary Kate mentors students in the MSW-IK program related to their projects and theses which have focused on Indigenous social work intersecting the following selected topics: land-based interventions, cultural resurgence and identity, substance abuse and recovery, research on parents and suicide, social workers and self-care, and grief interventions.

Check out Mary Kate's Google Scholar page