My research areas are Indigenous theory, critical theory applied to Indigenous land tenure and law, relational communal ontologies in gender, ecological knowledges, law, Indigenous gender studies, Moana migration and transnationalism, global citizenship and empire, territorial federalism, equity and comparative international law, Indigenous land use, climate adaptation resilience, o le alofi sā.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., American Studies, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
- M.A., American Studies, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
- M.A., Public Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- B.A., Political Science, Brigham Young University–Hawaii
- Certificate, Historic Preservation, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
COURSES TAUGHT
- PAIS 105 - Introduction to Pacific Studies
- PAIS 200 - Place, Purpose and Positionality on Native Lands **
- PAIS 220 Social Development in the Pacific **
- PAIS 300 - Framing Cultures in Oceania
- PAIS 330 - Sovereignty and Self Governance
- PAIS 331 - Women in Oceania
- PAIS 375 - Sustaining Oceania: Climate & Resource Stewardship
- PAIS 390R - Special Topics
- POSC 101 - Introduction to Politics
- POSC 110 - U.S. Political System
- POSC 190 - Foundations of Critical Thinking
- POSC 140 - State and Local Governments
- POSC 390R - Special Topics (City Planning)
- HIST 202 - History of Civilization since 1500
- REL 121 - Book of Mormon I
- REL 122 - Book of Mormon II
- REL 200 - The Eternal Family
- REL 275 - Teachings and Doctrines of the Book of Mormon
** - Courses being taught (Fall 2026)
PUBLICATIONS
BOOK
Kruse, L-N.M. (2018) The Pacific Insular Case of American Sāmoa: Land Rights and Law in Unincorporated US Territories. London: Palgrave Macmillan. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-69971-4
BOOK CHAPTERS
Kruse, L.-N. M. (2026). American Sāmoa. In S. Levine & I. Iati (Eds.) Pacific Ways: Government and Politics in the Pacific Islands, 3rd Edition. Wellington, Te Herenga Waka University Press.
Kruse, L.-N. M. (2026). Decolonizing Institutional Publishing: Pasifika-Indigenous Knowledge Production. In R. Minthorn, M. Penehira, J. Markides, E. Wright (Eds.) Indigenous Research Methodologies Textbook. New York, Routledge Press.
ACADEMIC ARTICLES
Kruse, L.-N. & Hafoka, 'I. (2024). Cultivating Pacific Studies in Ko’olauloa. Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity, 10(1), 194-205. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48778743
Kruse, L.-N. (2021). Teaching Women’s Histories in Oceania: Weaving Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being Within the Relational Mat of Academic Discourse. Pacific Asia Inquiry , 12, 322-338. https://www.uog.edu/schools-and-colleges/college-of-liberal-arts-and-social-sciences/pacific-asia-inquiry/V12
Kruse, L-N.M. (2019). American Sāmoan Land Tenure: Apportionment of Communal Lands and the Road to Individually Owned Land Rights. Pacific Studies, 42(2), 75-98. https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol42/iss1/3
Kruse, L-N.M. (2012). Responsible Ecotourism and Responsible Systemic Planning Development in Sāmoa. Fa’atufugaga, 1(1), 11-20.