Dan

Wildcat

Nonfiction Writer

Indigenous Scholar

Travels from: Kansas City, MO

“What he shared was simple, straight forward and very impactful.” — Appalachian State University, 2021

Daniel Wildcat, Ph.D., is a professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, and an accomplished scholar who writes on Indigenous knowledge, technology, environment, and education. He is also director of the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center, which he founded with colleagues from the Center for Hazardous Substance Research at Kansas State University. Wildcat helped design a four-part video series entitled All Things Are Connected: The Circle of Life (1997), which dealt with the land, air, water, biological, and policy issues facing Native nations. A Yuchi member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, Wildcat recently formed the American Indian and Alaska Native Climate Change Working Group, a tribal-college-centered network of individuals and organizations working on climate change issues. In 2008, he helped organize the Planning for Seven Generations climate change conference sponsored by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. He is the author, most recently, of Red Alert! Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge (2009).

Dan's Featured Titles

On Indigenuity: Learning the Lessons of Mother Earth

Fulcrum Publishing |

November 14, 2023

Environmentalism

An exploration of the concept of Indigenuity and Indigenous Thought. Leading Indigenous thinker Dan Wildcat synthesizes several related ideas, including science, the environment, biology and our culture, arguing that restoration of Native knowledge is essential for saving humankind and the planet. On Indigenuity is a part of the Publisher’s Speakers Corner Books series.

BIPOC Representation, Environmental Concerns, Native American & Indigenous Heritage, Natural World, Nonfiction

Red Alert! Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge

Fulcrum Publishing |

November 1, 2009

Nonfiction

What the world needs today is a good dose of indigenous realism, says Native American scholar Daniel Wildcat in this thoughtful, forward-looking treatise. Red Alert! seeks to debunk the modern myths that humankind is the center of creation.

Environmental Concerns, Native American & Indigenous Heritage, Natural World, Nonfiction, Science & Technology

Power And Place: Indian Education in America

Fulcrum Publishing |

August 1, 2001

Short Story Collection

Power and Place examines the issues facing Native American students as they progress through schools, colleges, and on into professions. This collection of sixteen essays is at once philosophic, practical, and visionary. It is an effort to open discussion about the unique experience of Native Americans and offers a concise reference for administrators, educators, students and community leaders involved with Indian Education.

BIPOC Representation, Civil Discourse & Social Justice, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Native American & Indigenous Heritage

What the world needs now: Indigenous knowledges (TEKs) OR Understanding a dangerous truth about the Anthropocene

Traditional Ecological Knowledges (TEKs) represent deep spatial experiential knowledges embedded in language, stories, songs, ceremonies, and everyday customs and habits emergent from the symbiotic relationship of Peoples and places. This brief reflection on TEKs and their application in exercises of Indigenous ingenuity or Indigenuity suggests the antidote to destructive features of the Anthropocene is the application of ancient Indigenous wisdom and knowledges.

“Dr. Dan Wildcat is able to present tough messages about the need for radical changes to our epistemological frameworks in the face of climate change in language accessible at various levels of education and to folks from multiple walks of life. Dr. Dan is a wonderfully engaging storyteller, and his advocacy of Indigenous knowledge and technology as necessary tools for shaping interventions into our climate crisis might be the most compelling story of all.” — Grinnell College, 2025

“Dr. Wildcat captured our attention with his perspectives on Indigenous Knowledges, Tribal engagement, the nature-culture nexus, and the land, air, water, biological, and policy issues facing Native nations. It was a memorable and enlightening event.” — U.S. Geological Survey, 2024

“In my opinion, Dan Wildcat was wonderful both as a personality and as a speaker. He was so friendly and easy to be with, and his talk was everything I hoped it would be, i.e., getting that indigenous perspective of life on Earth and how to live it. If we humans could follow his advice to live with an indigenous perspective, I believe the current dangers to human civilization would fade away.” — Sierra Club Kentucky, 2024

“We are honored that Dr. Wildcat spent time with us to share his insights from both his experiences and his book Red Alert: Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge. He was generous in sharing his knowledge and wisdom. Despite it being an online evet, Dr. Wildcat was so engaging that it made us feel as if we were in the same room with him. The event exceeded our expectations, and we received wonderful feedback on Dr. Wildcat and the material he discussed and presented.” — Jacobs, 2024

“Dr. Dan Wildcat was a vibrant presence at the University of Richmond’s workshop on sustainability. His talk brought tremendous insight and a sensitive rendering of the value of Indigenous perspectives on non-hierarchical human relationships with the earth. He was a gracious partner for the international community we’d gathered, and established strong relations with our partners from the Amazon rainforest. Dr. Wildcat’s most recent book, On Indigenuity: Learning the Lessons of Mother Earth, was a hot item for purchase at UR’s Sustainability Fair.” — U of Richmond, 2023

“We, at the Turchin Center, found Dr. Wildcat to be a generous guest speaker. He met with students in an informal setting and shared with our greater community in partnership with an exhibiting artist. What he shared was simple, straight forward and very impactful. I know many of us will remember his words for a long time to come.” — Appalachian State University, 2021

Haskell Environmental Research Studies

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Haskell Environmental Studies Center, Director
Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center, Co-Founder
American Indian and Alaska Native Climate Change Working Group, Member