Kasey Jernigan

Kasey Jernigan is an assistant professor at the University of Virginia and a scholar of Indigenous foodways and community health whose work bridges anthropology, American studies, and environmental humanities. Her research explores how food, land, and memory shape Indigenous and rural wellbeing, and her book Commod Bods: Embodied Heritage, Foodways, and Indigeneity (University of Arizona Press) traces the complex histories of food assistance and embodied heritage in Native communities in Oklahoma. She also co-directs the Black and Indigenous Feminist Futures Institute, where she leads collaborative, creative, and community-rooted research projects, including digital storytelling initiatives.

 

She is committed to public humanities and to amplifying diverse food stories in ways that honor culture, place, and care. A citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Kasey brings a deep commitment to public scholarship, ethical partnership, and culturally grounded food and health research to the Museum of Food and Culture.