Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera

Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera is a Mexican-American cultural anthropologist and interdisciplinary associate professor at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. At Western, she has served as chair of the ethnic studies department since 2024 and is an affiliated faculty member in Latin American studies, anthropology, and the Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies. Her prior experience includes her work as an assistant professor at both Dartmouth College and Drake University. Her research is published in books such as Beyond El Barrio (New York University Press 2010) and her co-edited anthology Comparative Indigeneities of the Américas (University of Arizona Press 2012). Her academic interests include the fields of Latinx and migration studies as well as research into the indigenous communities of Mexico and the United States.

Early life and education

Born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera moved with her family to Los Angeles, United States, as a child; she considers Ciudad Juarez and Arcadia, California, her hometowns. She received her A.A. degree from Pasadena City College and B.A. degree in Latin American studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. She later attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from which she received an M.A. in 1995, M.S.W. in 1998, and Ph.D. in 2007. Her Ph.D. was completed jointly in anthropology and social work. Gutiérrez Nájera won a first place dissertation award at the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education 2009 conference for her Ph.D. dissertation, Yalalag is No Longer Just Yalalag: Circulating Conflict and Contesting Community in a Zapotec Transnational Circuit.