The Textile Society of America is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Research Travel Grant: Dr. Nisaphi Lyndem and Katarin María Laruelle Aránguiz. These exceptional scholars are undertaking essential projects to document and revitalize endangered textile traditions, bridging academic research with community-based knowledge.
Dr. Nisaphi Lyndem: Indigenous Textile Scholar & Advocate
A member of the Khasi tribal community of Northeast India and a specialist in Indigenous textiles, Dr. Nisaphi Lyndem will use the grant to study historical Naga textiles through field visits to Nagaland. There, she will engage closely with local artisans, study heirloom textiles, and visit museums, handloom departments, and cultural associations. This immersive approach will offer a context-driven perspective on the textiles and the cultural narratives they embody – insights that are essential for publications rooted in authenticity.
These field visits will support Dr. Lyndem’s research and the development of a book on the tribal textiles of Nagaland. This work holds both urgency and significance, as the Naga communities are among India’s minority populations. Through this project, Dr. Lyndem hopes to contribute meaningfully to the preservation and understanding of their rich textile heritage. An effort that not only deepens academic discourse but also fosters greater awareness and appreciation of these culturally rich communities. Dr. Lyndem plans to share her research findings through TSA’s publications, symposium presentations, educational modules, and workshops to amplify underrepresented voices in textile scholarship.
Dr. Nisaphi Lyndem holds a PhD in Design with a focus on Indigenous textiles and anthropology. Her doctoral research examined the cultural appropriation and semiotics of handwoven textiles from Nagaland’s Angami and Sangtam tribes, highlighting their role in identity and resistance. As an educator, Dr. Lyndem bridges academic scholarship with community-based knowledge, advocating for the preservation of tribal weaving traditions as tools for economic empowerment—particularly for women artisans. Her forthcoming book on Naga textiles seeks to reclaim displaced heritage and amplify Indigenous narratives within global textile history.
Katarin María Laruelle Aránguiz:Textile Archaeologist & Natural Dye Specialist
Katarin María Laruelle Aránguiz, a PhD candidate in Archaeology at McGill University, collaborates with Maya weavers and dyers to preserve Mesoamerican dye traditions. Her grant-funded project focuses on Don Francisco Álvarez Montoya, the final practitioner of a 500-year-old indigo dyeing tradition in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico.
Through filmed oral histories and dyeing demonstrations, Laruelle Aránguiz will document Montoya’s knowledge, a critical intervention as synthetic dyes increasingly displace ancestral techniques. Developed in partnership with the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya, the project will culminate in public exhibitions, artisan workshops, and academic publications. Laruelle Aránguiz will utilize the transcripts from this project as part of her PhD thesis, Colour as a Matter: Impact of Socioeconomic Networks on Mesoamerican Epistemologies and Ontologies of Materials in the Practice of Natural Dyes. These findings will be shared through academic publications and at future conferences and symposia, including the TSA Symposium, a TSA blog post on the history of indigo in colonial Mexico focusing on the life of Francisco Álvarez Montoya, the Encuentro Textiles de las Américas (Ixchel Museum, Guatemala), the Dyes in History and Archaeology (DHA) annual meeting, and the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting.
A public video presentation and discussion will be held at the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya following the completion of the oral history video in 2026–2027. In addition, as San Cristóbal de Las Casas prepares to celebrate its 500th anniversary in 2028, further indigo-related activities will be developed, including workshops for local artisans and children, a featured piece-of-the-month exhibition at the museum, and public discussions on the city’s history.
Laruelle Aránguiz is a PhD candidate in Archaeology at McGill University, merges textile artistry with anthropological research and holds a Master’s from the University of Calgary in 2023 on the use of natural dyes in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, in collaboration with the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya (San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas). Specializing in Mesoamerican dye traditions, she collaborates closely with Maya weavers and dyers in Mexico and Guatemala to document endangered practices. Her work with the Centro de Textiles del Mundo Maya includes reviving indigo dyeing workshops, organizing community dye camps for children, and recording oral histories with master artisans. Laruelle Aránguiz’s research prioritizes ethical engagement with descendant communities, ensuring their voices shape contemporary understandings of their textile heritage.
Both grantees exemplify TSA’s mission to foster ethical, community-engaged textile research. Their work not only preserves tangible heritage but also champions the living cultures behind these traditions.
This year, TSA received 30 applications for the Research Travel Grant. Each submission was carefully reviewed by a dedicated committee of TSA Board and Committee Volunteers. We are grateful to all applicants for their compelling proposals and are inspired by the breadth of textile research being conducted around the world. The next round of Research Travel Grants will open in early 2026.
Want to support more groundbreaking textile research? TSA’s grants empower scholars like Nisaphi and Katarin to save endangered traditions. Please consider contributing to this and other scholarship and financial awards that help us in our mission to support the work of TSA members and our extended textile communities around the world. Learn how you can contribute: https://textilesocietyofamerica.org/programs/awards-scholarships/research-travel-grant
You must be logged in to post a comment.