Christina Thomas

My name is Christina Dawa Kustmana Thomas. I am Numu [Northern Paiute], Newe [Western Shoshone], and Hopi. I grew up on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation in Wadsworth, Nevada and am an enrolled member of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. I am an Indigenous scholar, vocalist, dancer, cultural activist, and language warrior, and my greatest role is as a mother.

I graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Biology in 2019 and obtained my Master’s in Native American Studies from UC Davis in 2021. I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Native American Studies and earning a Designated Emphasis in Performance and Practice Studies from UCD. My practice is rooted in the Great Basin, specifically Northern Nevada. My primary fields of study are historical musicology and language regeneration of Numu Yadooana [Northern Paiute language]. My research amplifies Numu ways of doing music history — privileging Numu knowledges, languages, and performance — as a means to Indigenize music studies curriculum.

As a recognized community leader, I have participated in community-based Numu arts and language regeneration projects for over a decade, primarily through documenting/performing traditional songs/stories to awaken my language. With my volunteer work and passion for language/cultural/arts regeneration and working with Native youth, I have received several recognitions throughout Nevada, nationally and internationally. I have been a teacher/consultant of the Paiute language and was the driving force behind the Paiute language being established as the first Indigenous language course at UNR.