Matt Sakiestewa Gilbert is an enrolled citizen of the Hopi Nation in northeastern Arizona. He is a scholar and teacher whose work brings an Indigenous perspective to the fields of Native American history, history of the American West, education, and the intersections of sport, culture, and identity.

He holds a Ph.D. in U.S. History, with an emphasis in Native American history, from the University of California, Riverside. After teaching for thirteen years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he joined the University of Arizona. There, he serves as Professor of History and American Indian Studies.

An award-winning author and filmmaker, Matt draws on personal Hopi experiences, oral histories, and archival sources to challenge dominant narratives and center Indigenous voices. His key publications include:

• Education beyond the Mesas: Hopi Students at Sherman Institute, 1902–1929 (University of Nebraska Press, 2010), a study of how Hopi students at an off-reservation Indian boarding school navigated assimilation pressures while preserving and strengthening tribal ties.
• Hopi Runners: Crossing the Terrain between Indian and American (University Press of Kansas, 2018), which earned the 2019 David J. Weber-Clements Prize for the best non-fiction book on Southwestern America; the book explores Hopi long-distance running traditions and how early 20th-century Hopi marathoners balanced tribal philosophies, school loyalties, and American nationalism.
• Co-editor of The Indian School on Magnolia Avenue: Voices and Images from Sherman Institute (Oregon State University Press, 2012).

In 2006, Matt also produced the documentary Beyond the Mesas, which examines Hopi experiences at Indian boarding schools and continues to air on regional PBS stations nationwide. His research on Hopi running has reached wide audiences through features on ESPN’s 30 for 30 series (including the short film Run Hopi), C-SPAN broadcasts, and various media outlets.

In recognition of his scholarship on Hopi long-distance running, he was inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024, joining well-known Native athletes such as Hopi Olympic runner Louis Tewanima.

A sought-after speaker and consultant for academic and educational publishers, Matt also served as an expert witness for the Arizona Federal Public Defender’s Office. Grounded in Hopi values and community, he seeks to advance Indigenous scholarship, build public understanding of Native histories, and better equip others through his ongoing projects.