Megan Red Shirt-Shaw (Oglala & Sicangu Lakota) is an inspiring educator, writer, and researcher in higher education. Passionate about belonging, community, and connection, Megan believes in empowering young people to use their voices for the issues they care about in their communities. A powerful speaker, she has presented at colleges and universities as well as conferences nationwide.
Megan is currently the Director of Native Student Services at the University of South Dakota and a doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development with a focus on Higher Education and a minor in American Indian Studies. In 2021, she was elected to serve a 7-year term on Harvard University's Board of Overseers, one of two governing bodies that plays an integral role in the governance of Harvard.
Megan earned her bachelor’s from the University of Pennsylvania in English and her master’s from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Higher Education. She has held positions in undergraduate admissions, college counseling, advising, student affairs, and teaching.
Megan is the author of the powerful policy paper, Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: College “LAND BACK” or Free Tuition for Native students. Her favorite phrase her mother ever taught her in Lakota is “Weksuye, Ciksuye, Miksuye” meaning “I remember, I remember you, Remember me.”
Advice For First Year College Students
What are the most important success strategies for first year college students? In this presentation, Megan discusses the transition from high school to the undergraduate setting, and the success strategies students, especially those who identify with underrepresented communities, can utilize during their process and experience.
Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Higher Education, the Occupation of Native Nations, and "Land Back"
Land acknowledgements have become a powerful introduction to convocations, graduations, meetings, and conferences in higher education. But institutions must challenge themselves to move away from encouraging acts that are just performative, into commitments of transformative change. In this presentation, Megan discusses her research into how institutions of higher education received their land and the steps institutions can take for land-based reparations including returning institutional land back to Native nations or if this is not possible, providing free higher education to Native students whose traditional homelands the institution sits upon.
Creating Community Spaces & Sense of Belonging for College Students
One of the most important experiences for undergraduate students is to find a space on campus that feels like home. In this presentation, Megan will advise on the importance of creating physical spaces on college campuses and best practices for creating inclusive spaces.
We Are Still Here: Relations, Foundations, and Native Nations What if we truly re-envisioned institutions as systems of relations on behalf of our students? Centering concepts of kinship and community, this presentation reflects on how creating connection plays a role within education communities and re-imagines these relations as opportunities for support.
