Mel Fillmore

Education:

B.S. Political Science, International Relations, 2009
School of Public Service, Boise State University

 

M.A. Political Science, 2019
School of Public Service, Boise State University

 

Graduate Certificate, User Experience Research, 2022
College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Anthropology

 

PhD Public Policy and Administration, 2024
School of Public Service, Boise State University

Personal Statement

Melanie Fillmore (they/them/she/her) is urban mixed Hunkpapa, Lakota of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. Their work is an iterative approach to understand the political engagement of Indigenous communities in policy and data. They envision a future of collaborative governance led by Indigenous ancestral wisdom and lived experiences. Melanie was the lead researcher on the 2020 HCR33 Report on Idaho’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons. Their 2024 dissertation “Redefining Missing in the Third Space of Sovereignty” considers how US federalism is fundamentally changed in collaborative structures are created between tribes, states, and the federal institutions. Particularly when tribes are leading collaboration on agreements or policy initiatives.  

Prior to joining OU, Mel has taught University Foundations and Anthropology courses at Boise State University on social change, political violence, Native American and Indigenous studies, and Indigenous Methodologies. They have worked as a data analyst for the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence to understand the impacts of domestic violence on Indigenous families across Idaho.

Areas of Interest and Expertise

Indigenous Policy and Governance

Indigenous Methodologies

Collaborative Governance

American Federalism

 

Awards and Fellowships

• Idaho Council on Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance. Idaho State Legislature House Concurrent Resolution 33. July 2020-October 2021. Research Contract. $30,000
• American Political Science Institute for Civic Engaged Research. 2021 Cohort Fellow. 
• Center for the Study of Federalism. July 1, 2022- July 31, 2023. Research Grant for Collaborative Governance on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Policy in Idaho. $4100 
• American Political Science Association. January 1, 2023- December 31, 2023. Diversity and Inclusion Advancing Research Grant for Indigenous Politics. $2000
• Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. February 1, 2023. February, 2024. Northwest Area Foundation Grant. Research Interrupting MMIP in Idaho. $30,000
• Summer Diversity Academy with Ken Meier at American University. 2023 Fellow. May 15-19, 2023. All-expense paid mentorship program

 

Publications

Fillmore, M.L., Gillespie, L.K.,(2022) Elevating Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Efforts in Idaho. The Blue Review. Boise State School of Public Service Journal.
https://www.boisestate.edu/bluereview/elevating-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-persons-efforts-in-idaho/

 

Fillmore, M. L., Gillespie, L. K., Growette Bostaph, L. M., King, L. L., & Gilbert, S. L. (2021). HCR33 Report: Idaho’s Missing & Murdered Indigenous Persons. Submitted to the Idaho Legislature, September 30, 2021.
https://icdv.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HCR33-Report_Idahos-Missing-and-Murdered-Indigenous-Persons.pdf

 

Fillmore, M.L (2019) "Decolonizing Urban Indian Institutions: Indigenous Authority in Boise, Idaho". Boise State University Theses and Dissertations.1620. 10.18122/td/1620/boisestate
https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/1620/

 

Presentations and Works

Dissertation Defense. Public Policy and Administration. School of Public Service. Boise State University, June 18, 2024.

• Redefining Missing in The Third Space of Sovereignty

 

Research Presentation. Department of Native American Studies. University of Oklahoma. Norman, Oklahoma. February 5, 2024

• Redefining Missing in the “Third Space of Sovereignty” 

 

Pacific Northwest Political Science Association, Annual Meeting. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. November 10-11, 2023

• Panel Indigenous Peoples, Political Theory, and Public Policy: Collaborative Governance on Idaho’s MMIP
• Roundtable: Indigenous Politics Update Idaho

 

Indigenous Peoples Day Speaker. College of Western Idaho. Nampa, Idaho. October 9, 2023.

• Panel with Jillian Putra and Brooke Putra. Idaho MMIP and Family Support

 

American Political Science Association (APSA) National Conference. Los Angeles, CA. August 31-Sept. 3, 2023

• Racialized Violence Panel. Data in Collaborative Governance to overcome gaps to PL280 in Idaho MMIP
• Indigenous Politics Panel. Collaborative Governance in Idaho’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Policy. 

 

Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest (ATNI) Conference Coeur D’Alene, Idaho

May 9, 2023. Presentation

• Status of Idaho MMIP Research with Coeur D’Alene Tribe Stop Violence Program coordinator Bernie LaSarte

 

2nd Annual MMIW Awareness Conference Elko, Nevada

May 4th-6th, 2023. Presentation

• Policy and Data on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons 

 

Graduate Student Research Showcase. Boise State University

April 11, 2023

• Dissertation Proposal Poster 

 

Collaborative Governance on Idaho’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Policy

Oct 17, 2022

• Dissertation Proposal Defense

 

Women in Leadership Conference. Andrus Center for Public Policy. Fireside Chat. Panel Discussion. 

Sept 14, 2022

• Collaborations To Serve Survivors of Human Trafficking

 

Western Political Science Association. Panel 23.5: Indigeneity, Settler-Colonialism, and Contemporary Democracy in the U.S. and Africa

Mar 11, 2021 

• Shared Meaning in Collaborative Governance

 

Anti-Racism Collective: The Activism and Anti-Racism Lecture Series. Boise State University

Nov 17, 2021. Presentation

• We Are Living This: Centering Community Narratives in Anti-Violence Policy Research

 

The Next Steps Conference on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People 2021

November 17, 2021

• Presentation on HCR33 Report: Idaho’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons

 

National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence 

April 30, 2021

• Presentation. Data Collection and Collaboration with Indigenous Communities

 

Ti Novitawi Kocheukaakwe Virtual Conference Honoring Missing & Murdered Indigenous People

Oct 28, 2020

• Panel on Sovereignty and Jurisdiction in Idaho

 

Idaho Summit on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women 

Dec 19, 2019

• Presentation. Decolonizing Indigenous Data

 

Collective Thriving Conference: Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence

Dec 4-5, 2019

• Workshop. Data with Idaho Indigenous Families who experience Domestic Violence

 

Oral Defense Master's Thesis: Political Science, School of Public Service, Boise State University

Oct 23, 2019

• Decolonizing Urban Indian Institutions: Indigenous Authority in Boise, Idaho

 

FVPSA Tribal Grantee Meeting: Division of Family Violence and Services, 

Aug 13-15, 2019

• Data with Idaho Indigenous Communities impacted by Domestic Violence

 

Service and Contributions

• Boise State University, Land Acknowledgment Committee Member, 2023-2024.
• Inaugural Co-Chair of the Indigenous Politics, Sovereignty, and Governance Section of Western Political Science Association (WPSA), 2024.