Ancestral Advocacy: From Survivorship at UC Berkeley to Montana

Bringing attention to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, Dr. Annita Lucchesi sheds light on the populations at risk, how trafficking happens, and what we can do to help. Her personal journey mirrors the geographies of her community’s struggles, resulting in her interest in mapping. Today, she researches Indigenous cartography, land-based violence, and earth sciences, merging her passion for geography with her Cheyenne roots.

Dr. Annita Lucchesi is a Cheyenne researcher, geographer, and community advocate. She lives on her ancestral homelands in southeast Montana, a few miles off of the Northern Cheyenne reservation. Anita is a survivor-leader with lived experience of trafficking, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and police violence. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Sovereign Bodies Institute, a non-profit research center and service provider addressing violence against Indigenous peoples.