Keene's blog
Native Appropriations is a webpage and forum for
Native peoples, including discussions of
cultural appropriation, media representations and updates on Indigenous activism.[6] The site and Keene's writing there, as well as across other social media sites and speaking engagements, have drawn notice for commentary on topics including Native American mascots,[7][8][9]Dakota Access Pipeline protests,[10][11] college access for Native students,[12] cultural appropriation in children's literature,[13] tourism in Indigenous communities,[14][15] fashion[16][17][18] and racist costumes.[19][20]
Supporting Native college students has also been part of Keene's work.[3] She belongs to College Horizons, an organization that has sponsored a series of workshops that support Native students through the different stages of the college process, from admissions to navigating college life.[21] This work formed part of her dissertation.[3]
Starting in 2019, along with
Matika Wilbur (
Swinomish/
Tulalip), Keene co-hosts a podcast called "All My Relations," which investigates and delves into contemporary Native identity.[22]
Academic scholarship
In 2014, Keene became a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in
Brown University's Department of Anthropology and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America.[23] She is now Assistant Professor of
American Studies and
Ethnic Studies at Brown. Her research focuses on access to
higher education for Native students in America, as well as Native representation in media and culture.[24] She continues this project with research on the use of media and emerging technology platforms by Native people to combat these images.[3]
Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present. Ten Speed Press, 2021. ISBN 978-1-9848-5794-1.
"College Pride, Native Pride: A Portrait of a Culturally Grounded Precollege Access Program for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Students." Harvard Educational Review, 2016.
"Representations matter: Supporting Native students in college environments". Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity, 2015.