Founder of Relate Lab at Arizona State University and Leading the Indigenous Water Stories Initiative: Meet Dr. Liliana Caughman
In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, we honor leaders like Dr. Liliana Caughman, whose work uplifts Indigenous knowledge, sovereignty, and community collaboration. As an Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies and Director of the Relate Lab at Arizona State University, Dr. Caughman champions projects that weave together land, water, and story as pathways toward justice and collective healing. Her dedication to relational research and education reflects the heart of this month—recognizing the strength, wisdom, and ongoing contributions of Native peoples to our shared future.
Tell us about your personal journey.
I grew up in the urban sprawl outside Los Angeles, surrounded by concrete yet always searching for the places where land and story met. My mother worked as a receptionist at a botanical garden, and that space became my first classroom. It was there I learned to listen to plants, to land, and to the quiet knowledge that lives beyond words. At home, my Puerto Rican grandmother filled our house with songs of the coquí frogs and stories of her life on the island. Those early experiences rooted me in curiosity about place, identity, and belonging.
What pivotal experiences shaped your current path?
My path to academia was winding. I struggled in high school, found my footing in community college through caring mentors, and later earned degrees in physics, environmental studies, and earth systems science. Along the way, I learned that knowledge lives in many forms. Families, stories, and relationships carry wisdom that shapes how we understand the world. When I joined the Native Environmental Science program at Northwest Indian College, I felt at home in a community where relationality, sovereignty, and care guided every aspect of learning.
Today, I serve as an Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies and direct the Relate Lab at Arizona State University. The Relate Lab builds projects and partnerships that honor Indigenous sciences and community leadership. Our work focuses on land, water, and story as pathways toward justice and collective healing. We collaborate with Tribal Nations, local organizations, and research teams to co-create knowledge that serves community needs while expanding how the academy defines research and impact.
Recent Relate Lab projects include the Indigenous Water Stories initiative, where students and community members document relationships with water through art, technology, and traditional knowledge. We have worked alongside the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Colorado River Indian Tribes, and partners in South Phoenix to create exhibits, educational programs, and digital tools that center cultural perspectives and data sovereignty. Each project helps students experience research as a living relationship grounded in place and care.
What are the most valuable lessons you've learned through your work?
The most valuable lesson I have learned is that transformation grows through connection. Mentorship, collaboration, and care sustain long-term change. I was lifted by mentors who believed in my potential, and I carry that forward by mentoring students to see their own worth, creativity, and leadership.
What drives your desire to contribute and make a difference?
What drives me is love for the communities and lands that have shaped me. I believe education can be a practice of liberation, rooted in respect and reciprocity.
What are your highest hopes for democracy to unite, uplift, and inspire?
My hope for democracy is that it becomes a space where every voice matters, where we honor the sovereignty of Indigenous Nations, and where care is our shared language.
How can GlobalMindED support leaders like yourself in achieving your goals and advancing your aspirations?
GlobalMindED can help leaders like me by amplifying the stories of those working at the intersections of knowledge, culture, and justice. Building bridges among students, educators, and communities creates opportunities to imagine and practice the futures we need.
Contact Dr. Liliana Caughman
Website: https://lilianacaughman.com/
LinkedIn
Email: Liliana.Caughman@asu.edu
The Relate Lab Website: https://therelatelab.org/
The Relate Lab Instagram: @the.relate.lab
Dr. Liliana Coughman's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lilianacaughman
Twitter @lilianacaughman
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