Claudia A.

Fox Tree, Ph.D.


Speaker and Workshop Presenter

Nation: Arawak (Yurumein) - Taino iukaieke Guainia
Email: cfoxtree@gmail.com (best way to contact)
Blogs: First Nations’ People (FNP) Resources and Multicultural Resources
Social Media: Twitter @ClaudiaFoxTree

Workshops

Claudia addresses assumptions perpetuating stereotypes and myths and expands "American history” to include Indigenous Peoples. Developing a counter-narrative to missing information and misinformation about the First Nations people begins with un-erasing Indigenous voices, learning what we were not taught, and continuing to have those conversations with families and friends.

In addition to workshops, Claudia teaches 12-hour courses, which can be scheduled over two full or four half days.

Claudia’s goals are to…

  • Recognize the importance of CONTRIBUTIONS and REPRESENTATION

  • Become an ALLY, ACTIVIST, AGITATOR, and CO-CONSPIRATOR

  • Learn accurate information about HISTORY and CULTURE

  • Understand CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

  • Deconstruct STEREOTYPES, IMPLICIT BIAS, and CYCLE OF OPPRESSION (ANTI-RACISM)

  • Develop a COUNTER-NARRATIVE (TRANSFORMING CURRICULUM & CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING)

Some “one-hour” presentations are…

  • Decolonizing Environmental Racism & Genocide·      

  • Decolonizing Anti-Racism, Implicit Bias, and Stereotypes

  • Decolonizing Thanksgiving & Columbus

  • Decolonizing Indigenous Contributions

  • Decolonizing Culturally Responsive Teaching

  • Decolonizing Curriculum

  • Decolonizing Cultural Appropriation

  • Decolonizing Identity

  • Decolonizing Ecosystems

  • Understanding Tribal Land Acknowledgments (TLAs)

Will speak at…

Colleges, conferences, seminars, civic organizations, teacher professional development workshops, etc.

Booking Information * within Massachusetts**

​​- Claudia can present in person and in a virtual/ synchronous mode.
- Presentations for smaller groups may be a seminar or participatory workshop.
- For larger groups, presentations are participatory lectures with a slideshow.
- Curriculum consultation is also available upon request.
- Rates available upon request

* Outside of Massachusetts or more than 75 min. away from Concord, MA, incurs additional travel expenses.
** Some consultations may be done in collaboration with a teaching partner or group and include an additional fee.

Please consider these questions and requests:
- Have you already chosen a date and time?
- Is this live/ in-person or virtual on a Zoom-type platform?
- If it is live, will there be people/ audience so that a participatory activity could be included?
- Claudia prefers no video-taping or recordings and does not share slides beforehand or afterward. However, she can offer a resource list of the information discussed.
- Please let me know if your organization will be preparing/ doing a Tribal Land Acknowledgment (TLA) at the beginning of the program. Claudia is happy to present a TLA but also feels that organizations must practice and take ownership of this critical practice. More information about TLAs can be found here.


Travel

When not virtual, Claudia generally travels within the Greater Boston area. She can be flexible throughout New England and Cape Cod. Claudia is willing to travel abroad with sufficient notice and expenses paid.

Biography

(Please feel free to use whatever you think is relevant in your promotional materials.)

Dr. Claudia A. Fox Tree (She/Her/Hers) earned her Ph.D. in Educational Studies from Lesley University; M.Ed. in Educational Research from Northeastern University; Special Education Certification grades 6-12 from Fitchburg State College; and B.A. in Psychology and Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts (Boston). Claudia has been an Instructor with Initiates for Developing Equity and Achievement for all Students (IDEAS https://www.massupt.org/ideas/) since 1991. She retired from Lincoln Public Schools in 2024, where she was a middle school special education teacher for over 35 years. Claudia is an international speaker who has presented in Japan, Canada, the Caribbean, and the United States. Her social justice work highlights decolonizing anti-racism conversations, curriculum, and culturally responsive teaching; recognizing implicit bias, microaggressions, and stereotypes; and understanding the impact of racial and settler privilege on the visibility and invisibility of Indigenous Peoples.

Additionally, Claudia was the first speaker at Boston’s Women’s March in 2017 and has been part of several protest marches in Boston. She contributed a chapter, “Aren’t They All Dead? Covert Racism and Native Americans,” in Covert Racism: Theories, Institutions, and Experiences, edited by R. D. Coates. She also wrote about the importance of Tribal Land Acknowledgements for Embracing Equity. Claudia is the proud mother of five adult children and four affectionate cats (Mesa, Luna, Salem, and Bagheera). Claudia currently lives and teaches on land that has been cared for by the Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), Pawtucket, Nipmuc, Wampanoag, and Agawam, who are the past, present, and future knowledge keepers of this land.

Since 2000, Claudia has been on the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness (https://www.mcnaa.org/) board. MCNAA’s mission is to preserve Native American cultural traditions, assist Native American residents with basic needs and educational expenses, advance public knowledge and understanding, dispel inaccurate information about Native People, and work toward racial equality by addressing racial issues and inequities across the region.

Since 1998, Claudia has been a Massachusetts liaison for the United Confederation of Taino People, headquartered in New York. UCTP (http://uctp.blogspot.com/) spans the Greater and Lesser Antilles and the United States and beyond. The UCTP is dedicated to promoting and protecting the human rights, cultural heritage, and spiritual traditions of the Taíno and other Caribbean Indigenous Peoples for present and future generations and endeavors to assist its citizens in their social, economic, and educational, cultural, and spiritual development. Claudia is a tribal member of the iukaieke Guainia Taino-Arawak Tribal Community.

In 2024, Claudia was recognized by MassLive as one of the Leaders from the Indigenous community throughout the state of Massachusetts for filling in a Native American perspective when teaching history.

In 2022, Claudia was awarded a Citation from The Massachusetts House of Representatives for "scholarship, activism, and tireless work to give voice to the experiences of Indigenous and Native American People."

In 2022, Claudia was honored by Ad Club for creating a more equitable Boston as a “Mentoring Champion” on their Equity Project Honor Roll.

In January 2017, Claudia was the opening speaker at the Boston Women’s March and spoke to over 125,000 people on the Boston Common.

In 2016, Claudia was the 58th woman to be featured by YM (Eliminating Racism/Empowering Women) Boston Women of Influence Series for the YWCA’s 150th anniversary.

In 2015, Community of Change recognized Claudia with the Drylongso Award for significant anti-racism work.

In 2011, Claudia wrote a chapter, “Aren’t They All Dead? Covert Racism and Native Americans,” in Covert Racism: Theories, Institutions, and Experiences, edited by Dr. Rodney D. Coates.

Who are the Arawak?

 

The Arawak are an Indigenous Nation who, at one time, ranged from Florida, through the Caribbean, and into the northern part of South America. They are still alive today, living everywhere in the world, and passing on the traditions, stories, and culture of their ancestors to the next generation. Arawak beliefs are founded upon the land of their ancestors, with its unique climate, plants, and animals. There are many words in the English language that are Taino-Arawak in origin. These words represent inventions, foods, cooking techniques, and other contributions and include: barbecue, cacique, canoe, cigar, hammock, hurricane, and tobacco.

In 1492, shipboard on his third night in the Indies, Christopher Columbus wrote in his journal, “I could conquer the whole of them with fifty men and govern them as I pleased.” On his 2nd voyage in 1493, Columbus arrived with 17 ships, 1,500 men, farmers, masons, foot soldiers, carpenters, ironworkers, priests, and 20 purebred mastiffs and greyhounds. He brought seeds, plants, and domestic animals like cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs that completely transformed the environment. His ships also carried chains, medallions, and branding irons. Columbus came with the intention of enslaving. He set the tone and example for later Conquistadors, one of genocide, cultural destruction, and environmental damage. The Arawak survived and continue to pass on their cultural traditions to this day.

Yurumein is the traditional name for the island of Saint Vincent.

Resume Highlights

Selected Host Organizations over the Past 10 years:

  • 2024: Mass Audubon Broadmoor Nature Camp (Natick, MA); National Educator Association (NEA) Conference on Racial and Social Justice (Philadelphia, PA); Middlesex Community College (Lowell, MA)

  • 2023: Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) 44th Annual Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee (EMAC) Conference; Essex County Greenbelt (Haverhill, MA); Cuvilly Arts & Earth Center (Ipswich, MA); Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (SARMAC) Annual Conference - Keynote Speaker (Nagoya, Japan); University of California (Santa Cruz, CA)

  • 2022: Upstander Academy (Producers of Dawnland); Milton, Belmont, Peabody, Lynnfield, Beverly Libraries, Eastern Nazarene College

  • 2021: (Virtual) Mount Holyoke University (South Hadley, MA); Brandeis University (Waltham, MA); Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Lincoln METCO (Lincoln, MA)

  • 2020: Maynard Anti-Racism Alliance (Maynard, MA); Brandeis University Indigenous People’s Day (Waltham, MA); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA); Bedford Embraces Diversity (Bedford, MA); Springfield Technical Community College (Springfield, MA); Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (Cambridge, MA); Unitarian Church (Billerica, MA); 9th Annual Making a Difference Conference (Special Education Surrogate Parents-SESPs), A Project of the Federation for Children with Special Needs); Hauswitch (Salem, MA)

  • 2019: Tewksbury Public Library (Tewksbury, MA)

  • 2018: Winchester Multicultural Network (Winchester, MA)

  • 2017: Raytheon (Tewksbury, MA); Wheaton keynote at UWC (United World College) Retreat; Framingham State College (Framingham, MA); Emmanuel College (Boston, MA)

  • 2016: Winchendon School (Winchendon, MA); UMass (Dartmouth, MA); Springfield Technical Community College (Springfield, MA); Eastern Nazarene College (Quincy, MA); Wheaton College (Norton, MA)

  • 2015: Roger Williams University (Bristol, CT); Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Burlington, MA): South Church (Boston, MA)

  • 2014: Amherst Public Schools (Amherst, MA)

Selected 12-15 Hour Courses

  • 2020-2024: Decolonizing Anti-Racism: Deepening Conversation Skills – 12.5 Hour, 1 In-Service Credit (Winchester, Somerville, Hingham)

  • 2020-2022: Decolonizing Curriculum: Developing the Counter Narrative – 12.5 Hours, 1 In-Service Credit (Winchester, Nantucket, Lowell)

Selected Curriculum Consultation:

  • 2024: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – Sloan Business School

  • 2018: Curriculum Consultation on Dawnland (independent film) Teacher's Guide

  • 2018: Curriculum Consultation K-12 The Park School (Brookline, MA)

Awards/ Recognition:

  • 2022 Awarded a Citation from The Massachusetts House of Representatives for "scholarship, activism, and tireless work to give voice to the experiences of Indigenous and Native American People."

  • 2022 Honored by Ad Club for creating a more equitable Boston as a “Mentoring Champion” on their Equity Project Honor Roll.

  • January 2017 Opening speaker at the Boston Women’s March and spoke to over 125,000 people on the Boston Common.

  • 2016 Boston Women of Influence Series The 58th woman to be featured by YM (Eliminating Racism/Empowering Women) on the YWCA’s 150th anniversary

Selected Interviews/Videos:

Selected Publications:

  • Fox Tree, C. A. (2023). Ableism, Visualism, and Audism Privilege. Native American Resources.

  • Fox Tree, C. A. (2021). Tribal Land Acknowledgements - What they Are and Why We Need to Do Them. Embracing Equity.

  • Fox Tree, C. A. (9/30/2016).  “My First Home Was An Arranged Marriage .” Boston Globe Real Estate section. 

  • Fox Tree, C. A. (2011). "Aren’t They All Dead? Covert Racism And Native Americans." Covert racism: Theories, institutions, and experiences. Ed. R. D. Coates. Koninklijke Brill: Leiden, The Netherlands.

  • Suyemoto, K. & Fox Tree, C. (2006, June). “Building Bridges Across Differences to Meet Social Action Goals: Being and Creating Allies Among People of Color.” American journal of community psychology special issue. (vol. 37. no. 3-4). pp. 237-246.

  • Fox Tree - McGrath, C. (2000). "Letter to My Children’s Teacher." Presented at The Third Annual Indigenous Women’s Conference: The Voice of Mother Earth on May 7, 2000. Long Island, New York. Published (Summer, 2000) in Turtle Talk Newsletter: A Quarterly Publication of Mass. Center for Native American Awareness. pp. 3-4.

Websites & Blogs

 

Native American Resources

Claudia posts the information shared in her workshops and presentations, additional links to articles and video, and many lists of books.  In this blog, she shares and updates resources long after the presentations are done and courses she has taught have ended. She addresses a broad range of Native American issues, with a focus on the Arawak (her nation) and Massachusetts (where she lives).

Multicultural Education

Claudia teaches several courses under the broad topic of "Multicultural Education," prioritizing social justice issues of access, power/privilege, and narrowing the academic achievement gap. She is a person of color and almost always has a white co-teacher. These courses include topics, such as: racism, sexism, heterosexism, growth mindset in the context of cultural proficiency, cultural appropriation, multicultural literature, transforming curriculum, closing the academic achievement gap, etc. This is a place where Claudia posts information that she teaches; lesson plans for specific activities; and resources used.

 

MASS

Initiatives for Developing Equity and Achievement for Students (IDEAS) is under programs housed with the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS). IDEAS/ MASS is committed to achievement and success for all students via culturally proficient classrooms and schools that honor the individuality of students and families of all racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.

MCNAA 

The Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness was founded by Burne Stanley-Peters and her late husband, Slow Turtle.  The mission is to assist needy Native American residents with basic needs, college-related expenses, and cultural and spiritual enrichment; to advance public knowledge and understanding that helps dispel inaccurate information about Native Americans, and to work towards racial equality by addressing inequities across the region.

UCTP

The United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP) was established as a Caribbean Indigenous leadership initiative or an “Inter-Tribal authority” inspired by ancient Taino and other Indigenous confederacies as well as contemporary initiatives such as the National Congress of American Indians (U.S.), the Grand Council of the Crees (Canada), the Assembly of First Nations (Canada), the International Indian Treaty Council, COICA (Columbia), and CONFANIE (Ecuador) etc.