Tria Blu Wakpa
Tria Blu Wakpa
Core Faculty
Assistant Professor
World Arts and Cultures/Dance | Native American education and incarceration; indigenous contemporary dance and performance; Native American athletics; indigenous martial arts; North American Hand Talk (Indigenous Sign Language); Native American literature and theory; Native and African American relations; race and yoga; and creative writing
Office: Kaufman Hall 140C
Email: triabluwakpa@g.ucla.edu
Phone: +1 (310) 206-1336
Biography
Dr. Tria Blu Wakpa joined the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance as an assistant professor of dance studies in 2018. She is a scholar and practitioner of Indigenous contemporary dance, North American Hand Talk (Indigenous sign language), martial arts, and yoga. Blu Wakpa’s research and teaching combines community-based, Indigenous, and feminist methodologies with critical race theories to examine the politics and practices of dance and other movement practices in educational and carceral institutions for Indigenous peoples. In addition to her appointment in WACD, Tria is involved with the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA, and has taught at public, private, tribal, and carceral institutions.
