Curriculum Vitae
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“I seek a future where our Indigenous arts are able to be discussed with the poetic, beautiful interpretation they deserve. Through the advancement of Indigenous scholars and considering our art through lenses that promote our philosophical worldviews, we will get there.”
-heather ahtone (Chickasaw and Choctaw)
“Shifting the Paradigm of Art History: A Multi-sited Approach,” in The Routledge Companion to Indigenous Art Histories in the United States and Canada
Ph.D., Florida State University, 2025
Art History--Visual Cultures of the Americas, Global Contemporary Art
Dissertation: "Indigenous Installation Art as Story: Material, Method, and Memory in the Practices of Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Hannah Claus, and Maureen Gruben"
Committee: Dr. Kristin Dowell (chair), Dr. Paul Niell, Dr. Adam Jolles, Dr. Andrew Frank, Dr. Nadia Jackinsky-Sethi (Alutiiq)
M.A., University of New Mexico, 2020
Art History--Art of the Americas
Thesis: "Contemporary Alaska Native Identities: Creation and Curation by Sonya Kelliher-Combs"
B.A., University of North Texas, 2018
Major: Art History; Minor: Anthropology; summa cum laude
(Forthcoming) McCoy, Tess. "Unbroken Connections: Customary Materials in Contemporary Alaska Native Art." In Materiality of Resistance: American Art, Visual Culture, and Activism, edited volume. Palgrave MacMillan.
McCoy, Tess. "Arctic Pasts and Presents (Presence)." NiCHE: Network in Canadian History & Environment--Part V of Visual Cultures of the Circumpolar North - States of the Field: New Research in Arctic Pasts. November 6, 2026. https://niche-canada.org/2025/11/06/arctic-pasts-and-presents-presence/
McCoy, Tess. Short Artwork Reflections, “Kari Cahill—By Equinox Drenched” and “Méadhbh O’Connor —Biosystem VIII.” In Talamh agus Teanga: Land and Language in Contemporary Irish Art catalogue, curated by Kristin Dowell with curatorial assistant Annie Booth, Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, 2024.
Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor, 2025-Present
Department of Comparative Cultural Studies, Northern Arizona University
ARH 145: Introduction to Native North American Art (5 in-person sections; 4 online sections)
ARH 347: Nineteenth Century Art (1 in-person section)
ARH 361: Contemporary Native Art (1 in-person section)
ARH 252: Twentieth Century Art, Europe & the U.S. (1 in-person section) upcoming-Fall 2025
Adjunct Instructor, 2025
Department of Art History, Florida State University
ARH 2000: Art, Architecture, & Artistic Vision (2 online sections)
Instructor of Record, 2022-2024
Department of Art History, Florida State University
ARH 2051: History and Criticism of Art II (4 in-person sections)
ARH 3854: The Museum Object (1 in-person section)
Graduate Teaching Assistant, 2020-2025
Department of Art History, Florida State University
ARH 4933: Caribbean Architecture and Colonial Ecologies (Special Topics) (1 in-person section)
ARH 4933: Digital Media for Museums (Special Topics) (1 online section)
ARH 4800: Contemporary Native American Art (1 in-person section)
ARH 4230: Later Medieval Art (1 in-person section)
ARH 2000: Art, Architecture, & Artistic Vision (11 online sections)
Graduate Teaching Assistant, 2018-2020
Department of Art and Art History; Department of Religious Studies, University of New Mexico
ARTH 1120: Introduction to Art (3 in-person sections)
ARTH 2110: History of Art I (1 in-person section)
RELG 1110: Introduction to World Religions (3 in-person sections)
Learning Strategist, 2018-2020
Center for Academic Program Support, University of New Mexico
Academic Co-Coordinator, 2017-2018
Student-Athlete Academic Center, University of North Texas
Art Appreciation Tutor, 2017-2018
Student-Athlete, Academic Center, University of North Texas
“The Land Looks Back: Reframing More-Than-Human Collaboration in Indigenous Land Art” at the College Art Association 114th Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, 2026 (national)
“Embodying Interconnectedness and Indigenous Worldviews in Hannah Claus’s our minds are one” at the Association For Art History conference, University of York, 2025 (international)
“Sonya Kelliher-Combs: Embodying Alaska Native Knowledge and Resilience” at the More-than-human Religion: Indigeneity, Objects, and Ecologies conference, Florida State University, 2024 (national)
“Unbroken Connections: Customary Materials in Contemporary Alaska Native Art” at The Materiality of Resistance symposium, California College of the Arts, 2024 (national)
“Rethinking Northern Subsistence: The Art of Maureen Gruben” at the American Society of Ethnohistory Crisis and Resilience conference, Florida State University, 2023 (national)
“Circumpolar Indigenous Art: Exploring Form and Process” guest lecture, Dr. Kristin Dowell’s course in Contemporary Native American Art, Florida State University, 2023
“Embodying the Past and Present in the Materiality of Sonya Kelliher-Combs’s Small Secrets” at the Native American and Indigenous Studies Brown Bag Lunch Series, Florida State University, 2023
“From the Body, Land, Sea and Air: Collaboration Knows No Bounds” at the Inuit Studies Conference—Auviqsaqtut, University of Winnipeg and Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2022 (international)
“The Warriors’ Circle of Honor: Visualizing Native (American) Narratives” at Rutgers University’s 12th Annual Art History Graduate Student Symposium Translating Home: Views from the Diaspora, Rutgers University, 2022 (national)
“Impacts of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act on Sonya Kelliher-Comb’s Art Practice” as a part of the Artmaking as Knowledge Production: Research in Practice panel at the Southeastern College Art Conference, 2021 (cancelled due to COVID-19)
“Curation and Creation of Alaska Native Identities by Sonya Kelliher-Combs” as a part of the Artist-Organization-Practice panel at the Southeastern College Art Conference, 2020 (national)
“New Displays of Customary Materiality: Sonya Kelliher-Combs’ Abstract Art Forms” at the New Perspectives in Native American Art No. 3 conference, University of Oklahoma, 2020 (national)
“Materiality and Ecological Textility in the Work of Sonya Kelliher-Combs” at the Arts in Society 15th International Conference, National University of Ireland-Galway, 2020 (not attended due to COVID-19)
“Guarded Secrets: Ecological Textility in the Work of Sonya Kelliher-Combs” as a part of the New Approaches to Visualizing and Analyzing the Natural World at the Southeastern College Art Conference, 2019 (national)
“Guarded Secrets: Ecological Textility in the Works of Sonya Kelliher-Combs” at the Art History Graduate Symposium, University of New Mexico, Spring 2019 (local)
“Exhibiting the Construction of Identity: The Indigenous Curatorial Vision of Sonya Kelliher-Combs” at the Art History Graduate Symposium, University of New Mexico, Fall 2019 (local)
“The Creation of Women’s Identity in Fashion: Objectification within Norman Norell’s Classic Style” at the Honor’s College Scholar’s Day conference, University of North Texas, 2018 (local)
“Norman Norell’s Classic Style” presentation at for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of North Texas, 2017 (local)
Fellowships, Grants, and Monetary Awards:
CAA 114th Annual Conference Registration Grant, College Art Association, 2025
Helen J. Beard Conference Travel Grant, Department of Art History, Florida State University, 2021-2025 ($1,000 per annual award)
Congress of Graduate Students Presentation Grant, The Graduate School, Florida State University, 2022 & 2025 ($500 for each award)
NAIS Research, Travel, and Creative Works Grant, Native American and Indigenous Studies Center, Florida State University, 2024 & 2025 (2024-$1,000; 2025-$,1500)
Walter Read Hovey Memorial Fund Award, The Pittsburg Foundation, 2024-2025 ($4,905)
The Materiality of Resistance Symposium Travel Grant, Terra Foundation for American Art, 2024 ($500)
Phillips Fund for Native American Research Grant, American Philosophical Society, 2023-2024 ($3,500)
Patricia Rose Teaching Fellow, Department of Art History, Florida State University, 2020-2024 ($20,000 per year)
College of Fine Arts College to Career Grant, College of Fine Arts, Florida State University, 2023 ($300)
Mason Dissertation Research Award, Department of Art History, Florida State University, 2023 ($5,000)
Conference Presentation Honorarium, Art History Graduate Student Organization, Rutgers University, 2022 ($200)
Adelaide D. Wilson Graduate Student Success Fund, Florida State University, 2020-2021
Conference Presentation Honorarium, New Perspectives in Native American Art No. 3 Conference, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 2020 ($500)
Ralph W. Douglass Endowed Scholarship, University of New Mexico, 2019-2020
Gulnar Bosch Student Travel Grant, Southeastern College Art Association, 2019
Honors & Awards:
Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award Nominee, Program for Instructional Excellence, Florida State University, 2022
Outstanding Undergraduate Art History Student Award, University of North Texas, 2018
The Art of Persistence: Exploring Symbols, Materials, and Function in Southwestern Indigenous Art, curatorial advisor, online exhibition, 2024.
Global Indigenous Cinema Showcase, Dr. Kristin Dowell and FSU’s Global Indigenous Cinema graduate course, co-curated online exhibition and moderated the online “Conversation with the Filmmaker: Billy Luther,” 2020.
Professional Service:
Peer Reviewer for Art Journal Open, College Arts Association, 2025-2026
Peer Reviewer for Athanor, Department of Art History, Florida State University, 2023-2024
Winbury Award Review Committee, Department of Art History, Florida State University, 2023-2024
Media Arts Grant Juror, Florida Division of Arts and Culture, 2023
Student-Faculty Liaison, Department of Art History, Florida State University, 2022
Exhibition Review Field Editor, Southeastern College Art Association, 2019-2020
Professional Development:
Indigenous Research & Teaching Circle, Northern Arizona University, working group of faculty and staff involved in Indigenous research and teaching focusing on exchanging ideas and collaborating
Elevating Excellence Working Group, Northern Arizona University, working group of faculty focusing on strategies and methods to support student success and engage with inclusive excellence in teaching practices
Disabilities Accommodation, Northern Arizona University—Training workshop focused on ensuring accommodation needs are met and various disabilities are supported in and around the classroom
AI Literacy, Northern Arizona University—Canvas course designed to give learners a foundational understand about artificial intelligence, including machine learning and generative AI
Canvas Essentials, Teaching and Learning Center, Northern Arizona University—Canvas course designed to help learners master the fundamentals of using the Canvas Learning Management System
Teaching Online, Northern Arizona University—Canvas course focused on evidence-based best practices from Quality Matters and principles of Universal Design for Learning
Learning Design Workshop, Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Florida State University—workshop designed to highlight effective learning experiences focusing on the learning-centered teaching approach
Teaching Workshop: Course and Syllabus Design, Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Florida State University—workshop designed aid in the development of courses that center student learning objectives and means to achieve those goals
Current Memberships:
Member, College Art Association
Member, Association For Art History
Member, Native American Art Studies Association
Past Memberships & Affiliations:
Affiliated Scholar, Native American and Indigenous Studies Center, Florida State University, 2023-2025
Member, Southeastern College Art Association, 2019-2022